By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE KLATHAM UNDER de facto party boss Thammanat Prompao is quietly competing against the Bhumjaithai, core of the current coalition government under de facto party boss Newin Chidchob, to attract many MPs currently attached to other parties and representing southern constituencies to the extent that they skip over to the bandwagon of either camp and seek re-election in a future race to parliament under their respective tickets, according to partisan sources.
Among a total of 60 MPs representing all southern constituencies today, roughly as many as half are anticipated to switch parties, particularly those currently attached to the ultra-conservative Ruam Thai Sang Chart and Old-School conservative Democrat, ahead of a run-up to the next general election which could probably be held as soon as some time in the upcoming March or April.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has earlier pledged to dissolve the House of Representatives and call the nationwide race to parliament within a four-month time after his Bhumjaithai-led coalition government has formally delivered their policy statement scheduled for next week.
Many of those southern MPs attached to the disintegrating Ruam Thai Sang Chart currently led by Pirapan Salirathavibhaga and previously influenced by former army chief-turned-coup leader-turned-prime minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as well as the divided Democrat who are desperately looking for a new party leader to replace former leader Chalermchai Sri-on would be ultimately appalled at the probability of their defeat in the next election if they continued to run under their current parties’ banners, the partisan sources said.
Given such forecast scenarios prevailing over all the southern constituencies, those elected lawmakers would be more or less prompted to skip over to “more promising” camps such as the likes of the renegade Klatham under care of Thammanat who concurrently performs as deputy prime minister-cum-agriculture & cooperatives minister and the Newin camp.
The Thammanat camp had broken ranks with the previously-ruling Pheu Thai under de facto party boss-turned-inmate Thaksin Shinawatra to vote Anutin for prime minister, overwhelmingly outdoing the Pheu Thai-attached Chaikasem Nitisiri.
More or less anticipated to either jump onto the Klatham or Bhumjaithai bandwagon to vie in the future race for the southern constituencies are a few MPs attached to Suchart Chomklin, who is currently a deputy prime minister-cum-natural resources & environment minister and also head of a renegade faction inside the Ruam Thai Sang Chart, some of the Democrat MPs viewed as Chalermchai’s proteges and several others under care of acting Democrat secretary-general Det-it Khaotong, among others.
That refers to many of the total 17 Democrat MPs and total 13 Ruam Thai Sang Chart MPs representing constituencies throughout the southern region who would likely be defeated in the next election unless they may have defected to the Thammanat or Newin camp, the partisan sources said.
However, the Palang Pracharath, now part of the current coalition government led by Prawit Wongsuwan, would probably vie against those electoral rivals running under the Klatham, Bhumjaithai and Democrat banners, among others, for some of the total 60 southern constituencies.
CAPTIONS:
Prime Minister/Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul, left in above photo and right in Front Page photo, and Klatham Party leader Thammanat Prompao. Above photo – PPTVHD 36, Front Page photo – Naewna
Insert: De facto boss of Bhumjaithai Newin Chidchob. Photo – Thai Rath
Also read:
Thaksin could possibly be imprisoned beyond one-year term
OAG urged to go ahead with lese majeste case against Thaksin in Appellate Court
Potjaman urged to take helm of Pheu Thai
Road collapsed above subway station construction site: Chadchart
Cambodia says shots were fired unintentionally
