A wide split has flowered in the leadership of the third largest coalition partner, Palang Pratcharath, with secretary-general and caretaker agriculture minister Thamanat Prompow refusing to talk to party leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwon and gathering supporters around him.
He claims to have the support of 29 of the party's 40 MPs, and of other, smaller parties.
The row re-emerged as new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra negotiates the makeup of her coalition cabinet after being sworn in on Sunday.
Capt Thamanat said at Government House on Tuesday morning that he would not talk with Gen Prawit because the party leader had no use for him anymore.
“As he does not use me anymore, I do not need to talk,” Capt Thamanat said.
He said he had helped form and had worked for the party for six years, and he had served “one person and one party long enough".
"It’s time for me to step back without disputing with anyone… It’s time for me to declare my freedom.
“From now on I am ready to leave, with other members, for somewhere there is happiness,” Capt Thamanat said.
He planned a lunch with people of like mind at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives on Tuesday afternoon.
Capt Thamanat was earlier reported to control 30 of the 40 MPs in the Palang Pracharath Party, while the coalition parties together have more than 300 MPs in the 500-seat House.
Asked how many MPs there were under his control, Capt Thamanat said they would know the answer on Tuesday afternoon.
"Let's say that we separate our existence clearly. But I won't ruin the nation or the government," he said.
Asked if he was excluded from PPP’s ministerial nominations list, Capt Thamanat said that was just speculation. The prime minister did not have to follow the party's nomination lineup.
After the lunch, Capt Thamanat announced at 3.15pm that 29 Palang Pratcharat MPs were in his faction, and that members of five smaller parties would also join them.
He said if PPP did not expel his group, they would remain with the party. If expelled, they would still remain within the Pheu Thai-led coalition. By law, a party must expel members. They lose their seats if they resign.
“Here there are 22 (MPs) and seven others are arriving. We will be in the government. The Palang Pracharath Party is united. Only one group is trying to divide the party,” Capt Thamanat said.
Capt Thamanat served four years in an Australian prison after being convicted on March 31, 1994 of conspiring to import heroin into Australia. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment, served four years and was deported upon his release. He denies the offence and has told the parliament it was only flour.
Ms Paetongtarn's predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, was removed from office by the court for a breach of ethics after appointing to his cabinet a lawyer who previously served a prison sentence for attempting to bribe the Supreme Court.
Capt Thamanat Prompow holds a press conference with more than 20 PPP MPs at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives on Tuesday evening. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)