ELECTION SPECIAL

Ex-TRT members the key to zone 2

Membership spread across several parties

Wassayos Ngamkham

Puea Pandin leader Suvit Khunkitti takes his party’s candidates on a trishaw ride in Samut Prakan. He can expect a tough fight if he wants to get all candidates in his home province of Khon Kaen to parliament on Sunday.

The spread of former Thai Rak Thai (TRT) MPs across a number of parties means constituency seats in this provincial cluster will likely be shared between the pro-Thaksin People Power party (PPP) and other parties that have adopted the former TRT politicians.

The enduring popularity of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra among rural voters in this zone, which is spread across provinces in the northern, northeastern and central regions, will give the PPP a great advantage over its rivals.

The party, led by Thaksin loyalist Samak Sundaravej, has been using the popular policies of the dissolved Thai Rak Thai party and the enduring popularity of its founder to win support across the country. But the party may not find it that easy to win as many constituency seats here as it may have hoped, as several TRT politicians are now running under other party banners and have established themselves firmly in their constituencies.

The trend can be seen in Uttaradit, Lop Buri, Khon Kaen and Phitsanulok.

The three seats in Uttaradit's constituency 1 are expected to be split between three different parties - Machimathipataya, the PPP and the Democrats. Lop Buri's five seats are expected to be shared between Chart Thai and PPP candidates.

In Phetchabun, local residents seem to be voting for specific candidates rather than along visible party lines and their favourite choices appear to be candidates from Chart Thai, the Democrats and the People Power party.

In Khon Kaen, with 11 seats being contested in four constituencies, a fierce battle is predicted to take place between PPP and Puea Pandin party candidates.

In constituency 2, Chart Thai candidate Permsak Pia-ura, a former TRT MP who has strong support in the constituency, is likely to win. In constituency 3, all three seats are likely to go to the Puea Pandin party as its leader Suvit Khunkitti is heading up his team there.

The race in Phitsanulok is likely to come down to a competition between the PPP and the Democrats.

The PPP's most difficult battlegrounds seem to be in Nakhon Sawan and Phichit.

The race in Nakhon Sawan is likely to see all PPP candidates lose out because former TRT members who are running under other party tickets have established close ties with local constituents.

The PPP is also expected to face fierce competition in Phichit, as its candidates are contesting against arch rivals Sanan Kachornprasart and his son Siriwat, who are vying for seats in constituency 2 under the Chart Thai banner.

For the proportional representation seats, the PPP is almost guaranteed to gain most of the 10 seats up for grabs, with many of the rural voters in the region still enamoured with Mr Thaksin's polices, which the PPP has been highlighting to draw votes.

Sampan Techa-atik, a lecturer at Khon Kaen University, said "Thaksin fever" was still strong in the provinces under zone 2, particularly in the Northeast, where, he said, local residents place more importance on their immediate interests than wider national interests.

"Local residents still prefer the PPP. This is partly because the Democrats have placed more importance on Bangkok and the South. People in the Northeast feel they are being ignored," he said.

 

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