Campaigns are under way in Phrae urging people there to vote "no" and prompt a poll re-run which would allow the Pheu Thai Party to field MP candidates in the northern province, according to Woravat Auapinyakul, a former member of the dissolved Thai Raksa Chart (TRC) Party.
Mr Woravat used to serve as a Pheu Thai MP for Phrae before defecting to the TRC. After the TRC was dissolved last week for its attempt to list Princess Ubolratana as its prime ministerial candidate, he rejoined Pheu Thai.
He said in his Facebook post that supporters in Phrae visited him and extended their moral support after the TRC was disbanded. They are now rallying for a "no" vote in the election.
There are two constituencies in Phrae. If the no-votes in either constituency outnumber the votes received by any of the other candidates, a re-run would be called by the Election Commission.
In such a case, results in the two constituencies in the March 24 election, would be declared null and void and the candidates who stood would not be eligible to run again in a fresh vote, according to the constitution.
No Pheu Thai candidates are standing in the March 24 election in these two constituencies.
If a re-run happens, the party, which is an ally of the TRC, can enter the race, although Mr Woravat will not likely be qualified to stand as a Pheu Thai candidate because he will have been back with Pheu Thai less than the required 90 days.
Phrae has been a traditional Pheu Thai stronghold and the party's supporters were thought to have switched to the TRC. But with the TRC now gone, many supporters would likely swing back to Pheu Thai, according to a political source.
Meanwhile, Future Forward Party (FFP) spokeswoman Pannikar Vanich has thanked Thitima Chaisang, a former MP candidate of the defunct TRC, for encouraging her supporters to switch their votes to the FFP.
Ms Thitima, who is contesting in Chachoengsao, said the TRC and the FFP share a common stand in opposing what they claim are the regime's efforts to prolong its grip on power beyond the coming election.
