Kamronwit Toopkrajang was slightly ahead of his arch-rival Chan Puangpetch in a race for the top job at the Pathum Thani Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO), according to Nida poll.
With two weeks away from the PAO chairman election in Pathum Thani, the poll released on Sunday showed Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit with the support of 31.87% of surveyed voters while Mr Charn garnered 28.68%.
The election result could come down to two groups of voters. The poll also showed 8.98% of the respondents have yet to decide for whom they will cast their ballot, and 17.43% said they would exercise their vote but they would not support any of the candidates.
Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit and Mr Charn are among the four candidates vying for the PAO chairman position in the election set for June 30. The other two contestants are seen as also-rans with little support in the poll.
The poll by the National Institute of Development and Administration asked 1,067 eligible voters in Pathum Thani on Tuesday and Wednesday about their choices and opinions.
The local election in the province is closely watched as political pundits say it could demonstrate the influence of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra since his return to Thailand from self-exile.
The Pheu Thai Party is nominating Mr Charn, a former three-time PAO chairman, in a bid to take revenge on Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit, who soundly defeated him in the 2020 election.
Pol Lt Gen Kamronwit was once a police officer loyal to Thaksin before the two parted ways. He once acknowledged that the convicted former prime minister helped him to rise to become the Metropolitan Police Bureau commander. "I have come this far because of the support from my brother," he once said, referring to Thaksin.
Thaksin sent a clear signal of his support for Mr Charn. The former prime minister on parole chaired a religious ceremony in Thanya Buri district in Pathum Thani held for a son of the Thanya Buri mayor to enter the monkhood on June 8, with Mr Charn also attending the event.
A throng of red-shirt members waited to greet Thaksin at the venue.
But the Nida poll on Sunday surprisingly showed that the visit to the province on June 8 would have no influence on the surveyed voters in the June 30 election, with almost 82% of respondents said the trip by Thaksin would have no impact on their candidacy decision.
Pheu Thai was swept aside by the Move Forward Party in the national election last year when it won only one out of seven seats in Pathum Thani. The remainder all went to Move Forward.