Thailand's PPP set to win sizable votes in upcoming elections
By Channel NewsAsia's IndoChina correspondent Anasuya Sanyal | Posted: 17 December 2007 1926 hrs

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BANGKOK: Thailand's People Power Party (PPP) looks poised to capture a sizable chunk of the votes in the kingdom's first general elections since the military coup in September 2006.

The PPP is Thailand's newest political party, and its campaign rallies are attracting large crowds of working class Thais.

Many hail the party as the incarnation of the banned Thai Rak Thai founded by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup.

As the popular saying goes - the two parties are "same, same but different."

"PPP is directly connected to Thaksin, assumed to be financed by Thaksin, and it has a platform identical to Thai Rak Thai. It wants Thaksin back; it wants to clear charges against Thaksin; and it wants to undo the coup and to reverse the various undertakings of the coup over the past year," said Chulalongkorn University’s Prof Thitinan Pongsudhirak.

Residents of the Din Daeng Housing Estate in Bangkok said that like the Thai Rak Thai, the People Power Party gets its message across clearly in simple language.

This strategy seems to be increasingly effective in the Thai capital, where many districts traditionally support the main opposition Democrat Party.

Polls showed 42 per cent of Bangkok residents support the PPP versus 37 per cent for the Democrats.

"I like the PPP's campaign promises which are similar to Thai Rak Thai's policies. I liked the policies under the Thaksin administration. He helped us in many ways," said a taxi driver.

PPP candidates do not shy away from linking themselves to the former leader.

"Mr Thaksin was the only prime minister to visit this community. No other leader did so before him. He came here three times. He knew the country can't be strong without the common people, and that the economy can't be strong if the poor are starving," said PPP’s parliamentary candidate Yuranan "Sam" Pamornmontri.

"When Sam was our Thai Rak Thai MP, he improved the plumbing and water systems of the old flats here. He took care of us, talked to us and got to know the residents. The locals here at Din Daeng locals were all very impressed," a female resident spoke of the parliamentary candidate.

Sam, as he is popularly known here, was an actor who became the deputy spokesman for the Thai Rak Thai.

Following the coup, Mr Thaksin fled abroad, and Thailand has been ruled by a military-installed interim government. But the former prime minister and his political legacy is clearly a major factor in the upcoming general elections.

Analysts expect the pro-Thaksin PPP to win at least one-third of the 480 seats in the Lower House of Parliament. - CNA/ac