You will be given a definition of a task first, then an example. Follow the example to solve a new instance of the task.
In this task, you're given a passage, further information available on a particular linked term from the statement, and an answer term. Your job is to generate a question that can use the information provided to obtain the given answer. You should use the information on both passage and link information to create the question. Note that the answer to the question should be exactly the given answer, and if the answer is none, the answer to the question shouldn't be obtainable from the passage or linked information.

Passage: The group was occasionally diverted from strategic missions to carry out air support and interdiction missions. It supported Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by attacking transportation targets, including bridges, along with airfields and strong points in France. On D Day, the squadron and the rest of the 446th Group led the first heavy bomber mission of the day. The 446th aided ground forces at Caen and Saint-Lo during July by hitting bridges, gun batteries, and enemy troops. During Operation Market Garden, the attempt to seize a bridgehead across the Rhine in the Netherlands, the 704th dropped supplies to allied troops near Nijmegen. It struck lines of communications during the Battle of the Bulge. During Operation Varsity in March 1945, it supplied ground and airborne troops near Wesel. The squadron flew its last combat mission on 25 April 1945 against Salzburg, Austria. The group had flown 273 missions and had lost 58 aircraft during the war,
. Link Information: Operation Market Garden was a failed World War II military operation fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 25 September 1944. Answer: from 17 to 25 September 1944
Solution: When did the operation during which the 704th dropped supplies to allied troops near Nijmegen begin?
Why? The passage describes the 704th's actions during Operation Market Garden, and the answer specifies when the operation happened.

New input: Passage: On 27 August 2000 the MEP joined the People's Alliance (PA). Gunawardena contested the 2000 parliamentary election as one of the PA's candidates in Colombo District. He was elected and re-entered Parliament. He was appointed Minister of Transport after the election. He was given the additional portfolio of Environment in September 2001. He was re-elected at the 2001 parliamentary election. On 20 January 2004 the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) formed the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA). The MEP joined the UPFA on 2 February 2004. Gunawardena contested the 2004 parliamentary election as one of the UPFA's candidates in Colombo District. He was elected and re-entered Parliament. He was appointed Minister of Urban Development and Water Supply and Deputy Minister of Education after the election. In January 2007 his cabinet portfolio was changed to Minister of Urban Development and Sacred Area Development but he lost his deputy ministerial position. He was appointed Chief Government Whip in June 2008.
Link Information: The People's Alliance (PA) was a front of political parties in Sri Lanka, formed in 1994. Answer: 6
Solution:
How many years after the People's Alliance was founded did the MEP join with it?