Massive amounts of money _ both legal campaign spending and illegal vote-buying funds _ are being dumped in the Northeast by political parties in the last leg of the Feb 6 general election campaign.

Traditionally the region that puts any party which wins it in Government House, the Northeast is aggressively pursued by all the main parties.

On his whistle-stop tour of the region yesterday, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra promised to inject 300 billion baht into the impoverished lower Northeast to bring tap water to all villages and equip all schools with computers if his Thai Rak Thai party is returned to office.

Somkiart Pongpaiboon, a lecturer at the Rajabhat Nakhon Ratchasima and adviser to the Assembly of the Poor, estimated parties were pumping 20 billion baht into their campaign nationwide and that of this amount seven billion was circulating in the Northeast, much of it vote-buying money to secure the 136 seats in the region.

Candidates hoping to win in the Northeast would have to spend at least 30 million baht.

Votes are going for 500 baht a head in this final stage of the campaign, Mr Somkiart said.

Mr Thaksin made his mega-billion baht campaign promise during his whistle-stop journey to the lower northeastern provinces of Ubon Ratchathani, Si Sa Ket, Surin, Buri Ram and Nakhon Ratchasima yesterday.

Thai Rak Thai party has chartered a nine-carriage train from the State Railway of Thailand for the closing stages of the election race.

Thai Rak Thai heavyweights including Gen Thammarak Isarangkura na Ayudhaya, Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit, Education Minister Adisai Bodharamik and Information and Communications Technology Minister Surapong Suebwonglee joined the tour.

They boarded the train, decked out in Thai Rak Thai colours, at Warin Chamrap station in Ubon Ratchathani province and wrapped up their trip in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

Mr Thaksin urged voters at each stop to board train ``No 9'', the number of his party and its candidates, if they wanted to see poverty wiped out. He asked them not to board other trains, apparently referring to rival parties, as they could not bring them to the destination.

``Over the past four years, I've worked hard and still have the energy to continue the work. Please help fill the fuel tank of the Thai Rak Thai train so it will continue running,'' he said.

If his party won the election, he promised to inject 200 billion baht to build tap-water facilities at all villages. Another 100 billion baht would be spent to buy computers for all schools.

Speaking on the train, Mr Thaksin said the party opted for this mode of transport as the election was approaching and time was limited.

He shrugged off criticism that Thai Rak Thai was using a state-owned train for its campaign activities, saying the Democrats and other parties could rent a train to campaign for votes if they wanted.

Thai Rak Thai rented the train for 150,000 baht.

About 2,000 people yesterday turned out to welcome Mr Thaksin's train in Ubon Ratchathani. His train drew about 4,000 people in Si Sa Ket who thronged to the railway station.

Mrs Jongrak Ponyak, 65, a resident in Ubon Ratchathani's tambon Saensuk, said she wanted the opportunity to see him with her own eyes.

Mrs Bunhome, Kham-on, 77, of Warin Chamrap community, said she was excited to see the prime minister. She and her 40-50 neighbours woke at 4am to take a bus to the railway station, where Mr Thaksin's train arrived at 9am.

Mr Somkiart also claimed a certain party had offered 3-10 million baht to candidates of rival parties in Buri Ram and Nakhon Ratchasima to abandon their campaign against its candidates.

The candidates who had been bought were mostly former civil servants, he said. These candidates had been well received by local voters during the initial stage of campaigning. After being bought, they campaigned less and failed to contact their canvassers, Mr Somkiart said.

Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop, who oversees Thai Rak Thai party's campaign activities in Nakhon Ratchasima, denied any knowledge about reports that parties would spend around 6-7 billion baht in campaign activities and vote-buying in the Northeast.

On claims that a party had tried to buy candidates from rival parties, he said he was not aware of that either and asked people who held such information to lodge a complaint with the Election Commission.