the overall direction of Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, unlike the PNM, which had a strong central leadership (in the person of Eric Williams), the DLP lacked a united leadership. The loss of the Gomes faction in 1960 and Farquahar, Forrester and Hosein in 1964 resulted in the loss of a section of the population which would remain unrepresented politically until the formation of the Organisation for National Reconstruction in 1981. Eric Williams had managed to attract much of the Muslim and Presbyterian portions of the Indo-Trinidadian population to the PNM. Even though these groups later drifted away from the PNM, Muslims remained an important constituency within the PNM until 1986. Faced with the opportunity to expand the party through alliance with labour leaders, Rudranath Capildeo chose to steer the party away from this block. Rather than share power within the party with Afro-Trinidadians, Capildeo chose to remain permanently in Opposition. As the PNM moved away from racially threatening rhetoric, the DLP leadership was able to build a relationship with them. Many within the party accused the leadership of selling out the rank and file in exchange for political favours, but the purge of 1965 ensured that no-one remained in the party with enough personal support to be able to challenge the leadership. The labour unrest of the 1960s and the Black Power movement of the early 1970s created other blocks of opposition to the PNM, but the DLP leadership was not able to attract these groups to their orbit. Instead, the opposition remained fragmented and disunited until the rise of the National Alliance for Reconstruction in 1986. Party leaders Victor Bryan - provisional leader (1957–1958) Bhadase Sagan Maraj - leader of the Parliamentary wing (1958–1960) Ashford Sastri Sinanan - Opposition Leader, Federal Parliament (1958–1961) Rudranath Capildeo - party leader (1960–1969) Albert Gomes - party leader (1960) Stephen Carpoondeo Maharaj - Opposition Leader (1963–1965) Simbhoonath Capildeo - Opposition Leader (1965) Vernon Jamadar - Opposition leader (1965–1972); party leader (1969–1972) Alloy Lequay - party leader (1972) See also Politics of Trinidad and Tobago Elections in Trinidad and Tobago George F. Fitzpatrick References Malik, Yogendra K. 1970. Socio-Political Perceptions and Attitudes of East Indian Elites in Trinidad. The Western Political Quarterly 23(3): 552–563 Sudama, Trevor. 1983. Class, Race, and State in Trinidad and Tobago. Latin American Perspectives. 10(4): 75–96 Defunct political parties in Trinidad and Tobago Political parties established in 1957 Political