Chooses Old Town for campaign launch
The Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) has chosen Pomprap Sattruphai district as the location for its campaign debut in Bangkok, which will kick off on Valentine’s Day.
“We’ve picked Pomprap Sattruphai district because our leader’s name is ‘Pom’, and he will defeat the enemy [prap sattruphai],” said Sakoltee Phattiyakul, a PPRP executive in charge of the party’s election strategy in Bangkok, referring to the nickname of PPRP leader Prawit Wongsuwon.
“The enemy we intend to defeat here isn’t our political rivals, but the hardships and suffering faced by the people,” he said.
The party’s campaign is tentatively scheduled to kick off on Feb 14, in which Gen Prawit will make his first appearance at a campaign event, along with the party’s election candidates, Mr Sakoltee said.
Gen Prawit and the party’s candidates will kick off the event with temple visits to ask for blessings, before going door-to-door to introduce the candidates, he said. PPRP has yet to finalise its picks for the capital, with four or five constituencies left to go.
The party also still needs to consider candidates backed by former PPRP leader Uttama Savanayana and ex-party secretary Sontirat Sontijirawong, who rejoined the party last week.
Mr Sakoltee said the party expects to conclude the selection process in two weeks, before adding candidates for the city will be a mix of veteran and younger politicians. He admitted the election in Bangkok will be hard to predict before saying voter sentiment in the last stretch of the campaign plays a large part in determining the winners.
Gen Prawit, meanwhile, is spending more time in the media spotlight after announcing that he was ready to vie for the prime minister post. The PPRP leader was seen at Lumpini Park on Sunday morning where he walked for half an hour before having a chat over tea with a local tai chi club.
He was greeted by park visitors, some of whom asked for a selfie and wished him good health and success in the next election. The PPRP leader was also seen buying food from local vendors around the park. Two weeks ago, he was spotted meeting people along Yaowarat Road during a Lunar New Year visit.
The PPRP has vowed to increase state welfare scheme benefits to 700 baht per month if the party returns to power in the next general election.