evidence: Dissanayake, who ran as head of the Marxist-leaning National People's Power coalition, defeated opposition leader Sajith Premadasa and 36 other candidates in Saturday's vote. [...] The 55-year-old, popularly known as AKD, leads the National People's Power (NPP) alliance, which includes his party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), or People's Liberation Front. Dissanayake gained prominence as a student leader before becoming a part of JVP's central committee in 1997. He later entered Parliament and became a cabinet minister in President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga's government.