By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE BHUMJAITHAI under influence of de facto party boss Newin Chidchob might probably be kicked out of the Pheu Thai-led coalition government after legislation on the 2026 budget has passed an initial approval at parliament whilst the former camp may continue to thwart the latter’s casino bill, partisan sources said over the weekend.
De facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra might probably opt out from sustained conflict of interest between the second largest coalition partner and his party by conjuring a new cabinet lineup in which Newin’s camp could probably be expelled from the current coalition and replaced with the Palang Pracharath and Thai Sang Thai, both now being in the opposition bloc as soon as the 3.78 trillion baht budget bill sails through the House of Representatives in its approval-in-principle stage.
The mega-billionaire power player who is virtually pulling the strings behind his youngest daughter-turned “puppet” Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra would prefer to patch up differences which he may practically have had with Palang Pracharath leader Prawit Wongsuwan and Thai Sang Thai leader Sudarat Keyurapan rather than put up with Newin much longer in regard to their unresolved inter-party conflict, according to the partisan sources.
Thaksin’s calculated move against Newin was more or less speculated at the wake of the possibility that some of the 69 Bhumjaithai MPs might abstain from voting for the budget bill scheduled for initial deliberation in the House between May 28 and May 30.
The prime minister’s father would almost certainly not tolerate the probability of Newin’s men standing in the way of his ultimate push for legislation to open casinos in the name of entertainment complex projects in certain tourist spots, given mega-billion-baht profits at stake in regard to casino-operating licences to be granted to foreign and domestic companies.
Largely viewed as an ultra-conservative party, Newin’s camp would continue to oppose the casino bill which could possibly be followed by legislation to turn all currently-illegal, online gambling businesses into legal ones though Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul who concurrently acts as party leader in name only may have expressed personal consent to it.
In effort to defuse a looming political crisis within the current coalition led by the 142-MP Pheu Thai, Thaksin would rather manipulate a new cabinet lineup in which he would do without the 69-MP Bhumjaithai and instead bring in the 20-MP Palang Pracharath and the six-MP Thai Sang Thai with Sudarat who had earlier worked for the de facto Pheu Thai boss over the last couple of decades embarrassedly acting as party leader in name only, the partisan sources said.
That would make an army of 281 coalition MPs minus four “rebellious” Democrat MPs being speculated to abstain from voting for legislations or motions lodged by the Pheu Thai-led government at any given time.
Nevertheless, such numerical superiority of the coalition government over the 213-MP opposition bloc would be practically adequate to keep the mega-billionaire power player from having his daughter-turned-“puppet” prime minister dissolve the House of Representatives and call a general election in a 60-day time as provided by law, let alone step down only to lose his surreptitious grip on government.
CAPTION:
De facto Pheu Thai boss Thaksin Shinawatra, left, and de facto Bhumjaithai boss Newin Chidchob, right. Top photo: PPTVHD36, Front Page photo: Thai Rath
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