Kwayana Could Have Beaten Jagan to Premiership but Walked Away-Dr. Hinds

Kwayana, born Sydney Evanson King, died in the United States on October 10, 2026, at the age of 101. His death has renewed attention to his extraordinary political legacy, including a consequential episode in the history of the original People’s Progressive Party (PPP) that, until Hinds’s recent account, had not been publicly revealed in this form.

Speaking on his Politics 101 programme, Hinds recounted how Kwayana emerged as a compromise candidate after a bitter leadership dispute between Jagan and Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham threatened to prevent the PPP from forming a government following its victory in the 1953 elections.

Reportedly, Burnham maintained that he should lead the government because he chaired the party, while Jagan’s supporters argued that he was entitled to the premiership because he founded the movement and led it as its legislative leader.