As a young lawyer, Bandaranaike became active in the Ceylon National Congress (CNC). He was elected to the Colombo Municipal Council in 1926. From 1931 to 1947 he served in the State Council of Ceylon. In order to raise Sinhala culture and community interests, Bandaranaike organized the Sinhala Maha Sabha in 1936. In 1946 he backed the United National Party (UNP) and held posts from 1947 to 1951. In 1951, Bandaranaike led his Sinhala Maha Sabha out of the UNP and established the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP).