Members only speculate that a current tweet by fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was a political ploy to garner help for the Pheu Thai Party, as pollsters predict it might lose votes to the more and more popular Move Forward Party (MFP) before the General Election scheduled for May 14.
Yesterday, Thaksin tweeted that he would return to Thailand now that his seventh and youngest grandchild has been born as he needs to take care of them at the age of 73.
Thaksin expressed his delight on Twitter, sharing news that his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra had given start to his seventh grandchild, all of whom had been born after he left the nation.
“I’d prefer to ask for permission to return to deal with the grandchildren because I will be seventy four years previous this July. See you soon.”
Paetongtarn, who can also be a prime ministerial candidate for the Pheu Thai Party, shared on Instagram that her son has been named Phruethasin Suksawat, with the nickname Thasin. She expressed gratitude for the ethical help and said her intention to satisfy the press soon after recovering from the start.
However, Olarn Thinbangtieo, a political science lecturer at Burapha University, believes there may be a hidden political agenda behind Thaksin’s tweet, reported Bangkok Post.
Olarn said Thaksin’s newest tweet might be linked to the waning popularity of the Pheu Thai Party, especially on social media, the place the MFP is gaining traction, significantly in major cities like Bangkok.
“The MFP’s rising popularity will have an impact on Pheu Thai’s bid to realize a landslide victory within the ballot.”
He believes that Thaksin is stepping forward to garner sympathy from voters by expressing his want to return and take care of his grandchildren.
Jade Donavanik, dean of the law school at Dhurakij Pundit University, shared an analogous view, asserting that Thaksin perceives the MFP’s rising popularity as a threat to Pheu Thai’s prospects.
He identified that there was no want for Thaksin to battle against the MFP and different opposition parties, as the MFP is already their rival.
Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, a law lecturer at Thammasat University, suggested that Thaksin’s current tweet would encourage those that need him to return and vote for Pheu Thai. However, it could also compel those who dislike him to assist the United Thai Nation Party (UTN), which has Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as its prime ministerial candidate.
In 2008, Thaksin was convicted for violating the National Counter Corruption Act in the Ratchadaphisek land purchase case and sentenced to 2 years in jail by the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions. He fled the nation that same year, simply earlier than the court docket sentenced him, and subsequently jumped bail after attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games along with his then-wife in Beijing. They later divorced, and she returned to Thailand..