I am of course referring to comrade Bala Tampoe who was the Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU) General Secretary from 1948 to 2014. Foray Into Electoral PoliticsThough an active trade unionist , Bala Tampoe did dabble in electoral politics for some years. The LSSP-R experienced further fragmentation when Edmund Samarakkody left the LSSP-R after engaging in a vitriolic campaign against Bala Tampoe. The larger than life image of Bala Tampoe instilled in me since childhood kept growing as I too grew up. Philips Balendra Tampoe known to all as Bala Tampoe passed way on September 1st 2014.