Charting Uncertain Futures: Diaspora, Citizenship and Belonging among Up-country Tamils and political community, wherever they live and work. One major reason for this change is the presence of the Democratic People’s Front, whose candidates won seats in Colombo and Kandy, indicating the increased Up-country Tamil constituency in these urban areas. The success of the TPA is a landmark achievement in Upcountry Tamil politics. Just as President Sirisena’s election appeared to mark a transition from the party politics of the past towards a new, still indeterminate political configuration, so did the electoral success of the TPA. In the end, it takes more than just an electoral victory to change political culture, institutions, and practices on the island. The CWC may not currently be the dominant Up-country Tamil party, but they still have resources and connections to bring them back to power before too long. In the past, when the CWC allied itself with the losing side during an election, they quickly did an about-face and joined the governing party, to increasingly diminishing returns. Historically the CWC has been able to shift with the political winds with remarkable speed and few repercussions, mainly because no other Up-country Tamil party was able to present itself as a credible alternative. The establishment of the TPA averted this possibility for now, but the CWC remains the largest trade union on the estates. In addition, it is an open question as to whether the CWC’s association with the Rajapaksa government will benefit them or not in future electoral campaigns. If the TPA succeeds in ways that its constituent parties have not been able to do before, they may meet the promise of parliamentary politics for Up-country Tamils for the first time in 19