The People's Alliance was founded in 1994 after Chandrika Kumaratunga succeeded her mother, former prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, as the leader of the SLFP. The alliance was formed as a coalition consisting of the SLFP and other smaller leftist parties.
The alliance won its first elections, the 1994 parliamentary elections, in a landslide victory, defeating their main opposition the United National Party and bringing a decisive end to 17 years of UNP rule. The PA would remain the ruling party of Sri Lanka for the next few years, successfully winning the presidential elections of 1994 and 1999 as well as the 2000 parliamentary elections. However, the alliance was defeated by the UNP-led United National Front in the 2001 parliamentary elections.
After the creation of a new SLFP-led alliance, the United People's Freedom Alliance, in 2004, most members of the People's Alliance merged into the new alliance. The CPSL and LSSP threatened to reform the PA as a separate front, however, such alliance was never formed.
In 2024, in light of the upcoming presidential elections, the SLFP proposed to form a new alliance, led by the SLFP, in opposition to the incumbent government led by president Ranil Wickremesinghe.[1] The new alliance was revealed to be a revival of the People's Alliance, with the exact same name, which was originally formed in 1994.[2] The SLFP announced that former president Chandrika Kumaratunga would once again be leading the alliance, and Kumaratunga's SLFP membership was restored, marking her return to politics.[2][3][4] Current SLFP leader Maithripala Sirisena was appointed the chairman of the new PA.[1]
