No chance of reunion with Pheu Thai, says Bhumjaithai chief

Anutin also responds to stories spread by Thaksin, and talk of ‘cobra’ MPs

Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul has firmly ruled out the possibility of the party rejoining the Pheu Thai-led coalition, saying that Bhumjaithai’s departure indicated both parties could no longer work together due to diverging political directions.

Speaking in Si Sa Ket where he was helping campaign for the party’s by-election candidate on Tuesday, Mr Anutin made it clear that there would be no political reunion and insisted that the party had made the right decision by leaving the coalition government.

“There’s no such thing as begging someone to come back. We didn’t leave because we were playing hard to get. We left because we believe our directions had diverged,” he said.

Two issues in particular triggered the decision to move to the opposition on June 18: Pheu Thai’s decision to wrest control of the Interior Ministry from Bhumjaithai, and the fallout from the leak of an embarrassing phone call between Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian premier Hun Sen.

Mr Anutin also brushed aside comments made by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the de facto head of Pheu Thai, expressing a willingness to mend ties.

Bhumjaithai had already sacrificed its popularity once by joining the Pheu Thai-led coalition, said Mr Anutin.

Thaksin also stirred the pot further by remarking that “a politician’s son” had boasted recently that his father would be the prime minister within three months. It was assumed he was referring to Mr Anutin, who denied that his son has ever said any such thing.

In any case, he said, “There’s nothing wrong for politicians to aspire to be prime minister as the more responsibility you have, the more you could serve the country.

“What’s wrong with having ambition to be the prime minister? I believe Thaksin once had that ambition when he entered politics and he achieved it. He should be seen as a role model for younger generations.”

Cobra comments

In a related development, Pheu Thai heavyweight Prasert Jantararuangtong dismissed accusations by Bhumjaithai that his party was attempting to buy “cobras” — the local name for political defectors.

The Aug 10 by-election in Constituency 5 of Si Sa Ket is being held to fill the seat left vacant following the death of Pheu Thai MP Amorntep Sommai on June 27.

Pheu Thai is backing Phurika Sommai, daughter of the late MP, and Bhumjaithai is campaigning for Jintawan Traisaranakul, daughter of former MP Thira.

Mr Prasert expressed confidence that Pheu Thai would retain the seat, but acknowledged that the party faced challenges due to growing tensions along the Thai-Cambodian border and the fallout from the Paetongtarn phone call.

He said the party would clarify the issue to voters and believed the voters would see through all the talk.

Speaking later on Tuesday at party headquarters in Bangkok, Mr Anutin dismissed reports suggested that at least three Bhumjaithai MPs were planning to leave.

He said he had not personally checked on whether there were any “cobras”, and it was not something he wanted to do.

Representing the people in constituency is an honour, he said, and being a cobra is betraying the people.

Ever since it joined the opposition benches, Bhumjaithai has found itself under attack by Pheu Thai. The transfer of several senior Interior Ministry officials, for example, is an extraordinary thing that would never have happened on his watch. He said the officials worked to their ultimate capacity to serve people, not politicians.

The long-running dispute over the status of a large tract of land in Khao Kradong district of Buri Ram is also back in the news now that Bhumjaithai is no longer in charge of the Interior Ministry.

At issue are 900 land title deeds that the Supreme Court deemed unlawful in a 2021 ruling, including 20 deeds covering 288 rai of land linked to the Chidchob family, a major player in Bhumjaithai. The Department of Land, under the ministry, has declined to nullify the deeds. 

Interior Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has given the department seven days to explain why it has failed to comply with court rulings.

Mr Anutin maintains that the department has already done the things necessary to comply with the court ruling. Anyone who disagrees should learn about what a minister can and cannot do in such a case, he said.