By Uditha Jayasinghe and Sudipto Ganguly COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's leftist coalition won a thumping victory in a snap general election, gaining power to push through his plans to fight poverty and graft in the island nation recovering from a financial meltdown.

Sri Lanka's National People's Power of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Thursday secured a majority in parliament, according to official results

The NPP contesting under the Malimawa (compass) symbol secured 113 seats in the 225 member assembly, data released by the elections commissions website showed

A former agriculture minister and long-time member of parliament, Dissanayake came into spotlight by distancing himself from the political elite, presenting himself as an outsider with the ability to address Sri Lanka’s financial crisis.

Sri Lanka's President and National People's Power (NPP) party leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake shows his ink-marked finger after casting his vote on the day the parliamentary election in Colombo, Sri Lanka,

According to the Election Commission results, Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power Party has won at least 123 of the 225 seats in Parliament.

The win gives leftist president Anura Kumara Dissanayake greater legislative power to pursue policies to alleviate poverty and fight graft.

Dissanayake, a political outsider in a country dominated by family parties for decades, comfortably won the island’s presidential election in September.

Sri Lankans have voted in a parliamentary election that's key for their new, Marxist-leaning president to consolidate his party’s power and follow through on promises of economic recovery