Career
He served for a time as Cabinet Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation. Dissanayake was named the leader of JVP at the 7th national convention of the party, held on 2 February 2014. He was appointed as the Chief Opposition Whip of Sri Lanka in September 2015.
He was the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation in the 2004 SLFP, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna joint government under President Chandrika Kumaratunge.