Anudith Nakornthap, the Information and Communication Technology Minister, is likely to be bundled out of the cabinet as part of a reshuffle by the government some time in June.
Mr Vicharn (left) or Sqn Ldr Sita are poised to take Gp Capt Anudit’s seat.
Sources close to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Gp Capt Anudith had been "less than stellar" in his performance over the past few months.
Two people named as possible replacements include Vicharn Meenchainant and Sita Tiwari.
Mr Vicharn is currently a Pheu Thai MP for Bangkok's Min Buri district. He was a deputy public health minister in 2008 under the governments led by Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawat.
Sqn Ldr Sita was a government spokesman from 2002 to 2003. He was banned from politics along with 110 other MPs when the Thai Rak Thai party was disbanded in 2006.
Like Gp Capt Anudit, both are close to Sudarat Keyuraphan, a founder and deputy leader of the Thai Rak Thai party, the first incarnation of the Pheu Thai party.
May 30 marks the end of the five-year ban on 111 former Thai Rak Thai executives. Pheu Thai, the party led by Ms Yingluck and her older brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, is expected to push for a cabinet reshuffle to open the door for some of the banned politicians to return to the cabinet.
Government political advisers point to the Information and Communication Technology Ministry's weak handling of the One Tablet per Child programme and the slow progress in introducing third-generation (3G) services.
Pheu Thai strategists also cited Gp Capt Anudith's handling of the investigation into the 3G network deal between True Corp and CAT Telecom as a reason.
A consultant to Pheu Thai said Khunying Sudarat was "uncomfortable" with the minister's performance at a meeting last Monday.
The 51-year-old Mr Vicharn has been floated to replace Gp Capt Anudith due to his versatile capabilities.
Sqn Ldr Sita, currently a personal consultant of the ICT Minister, is said to have a close relationship with the Shinawatra family _ especially with Thaksin's son Panthongtae.
"A final decision will be made by Thaksin," the sources said.
Gp Capt Anudith acknowledged it is possible his seat might change in the reshuffle.
"Nothing is decided at this moment," he said.
"What I can do right now is continue working until my last day as minister."
He said the tablet project is delayed as the ministry needs to make sure it complies with procurement regulations.
"We need to be careful or it will bring on a legal backlash by the opposition."
He added the reshuffle will be based on quotas of the factions inside the Pheu Thai's party and of Bangkok MPs.
Gp Capt Anudith admitted that Sqn Ldr Sita, his classmate at the Royal Thai Air Force Academy, represents a possible candidate if the Bangkok MP faction earns a cabinet seat.
He's also willing to be a candidate in a gubernatorial election if the party agrees to it. "I'm a flexible person. I'll have no problem doing anything that benefits [the public]," he added.