AEKARACH SATTABURUTH AND WASSANA NANUAM
After Finance Minister Suchart Thada-Thamrongvech's resignation from the leadership of the Puea Thai party - the path looks clear for convicted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's younger sister, Yingluck, to take charge.
Mr Suchart maintained he was not under any pressure to quit, but wanted to make way for a more qualified person to lead the party's 6,700 members.
He remains a party member but was unsure if his exit will cost him his portfolio in the coming cabinet shake-up.
Puea Thai is viewed as the fall-back party in the event the People Power party (PPP) is dissolved for electoral fraud.
A PPP source said Thaksin told him in China that the party leadership was reserved for his sister, who would appeal to voters in the North and Northeast as his real representative who would carry on with PPP policies.
If all went as planned, Puea Thai would win the next general election and Mrs Yingluck would be the country's first female prime minister, the source said.
If the PPP were dissolved, former deputy prime minister Mingkwan Sangsuwan, who is not a member of the party's board, would take over as interim prime minister, he said.
But Mr Mingkwan is among the 28 members of the former Samak Sundaravej cabinet at risk from the National Anti-Corruption Commission's charge of negligence of duty and violation of the charter in its support for Cambodia's application for the Preah Vihear temple's listing as a World Heritage site.
Puea Thai director Nirun Namuangrak said a Shinawatra family member would be good for the party in retaining credibility and trust of Thaksin's supporters.
Another name emerging as a possible leader for Puea Thai is retired Gen Chaiyasit Shinawatra, a cousin of Thaksin.
The retired general said he had not talked with Thaksin about his political career, but he was more than happy to jump in.
Party registrar Kamol Bandaipetch said the internal restructuring was in preparation for the possible disbanding of PPP, Chart Thai and Matchimathipataya.
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