[2] He served as a member of the 2nd State Council of Ceylon, between February 1943 and 1947, for Avissawella,[4] following the arrest and detention of the sitting member, Philip Gunawardena in July 1942 for his participation in the independence struggle in India.
[5] He was subsequently appointed to the Executive Committee for Labour, Industry and Commerce.
[6] In 1945 he married Clodagh née Jayewardene, who later became the first female to be elected to the Senate of Ceylon.
[7] Jayasuriya contested the seat of Avissawella at the 1st parliamentary election held in late 1947.
He was unsuccessful in his attempt to get elected losing to Philip Gunawardena by almost 12,000 votes.