Anutin stated in an interview with The Nation that Srettha’s speech to the people of Nakhon Phanom province last week astounded him.
According to rumors, former real estate billionaire Srettha predicted that General Prayut would remain prime minister if voters chose Bhumjaithai on one ballot and Pheu Thai on the other. Therefore, he requested that Pheu Thai be selected on both ballots.
Voters will be given two votes on May 14, the day of the general election. One ballot will be for choosing constituency MPs, who will fill a total of 400 seats, and the other will be for electing party-list MPs, who will fill a total of 100 seats.
Anutin expressed his disbelief that Pheu Thai would select a candidate for prime minister who was so young. “All surveys show Pheu Thai to be ahead and winning the majority of seats. Why are you running your campaign in such a destructive manner if you are confident in your ability to lead?
The Bhumjaithai leader continued by claiming that Srettha lacks the political experience and leadership skills necessary to lead the country, which calls for the capacity to bring people together. He even suggested that he might be violating election laws by spreading fake material to malign a rival political group.
While serving as deputy prime minister and minister of public health in the departing government, Anutin maintained a cordial relationship with General Prayut. However, the Bhumjaithai Party has not yet disclosed its coalition plans with any other parties.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the first candidate for Pheu Thai and the daughter of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin, may even be more mature than Srettha, according to Anutin.Paetongtarn was ranked first in the inaugural Nation Poll, which was conducted on April 7–12, with 33.81% of the vote, ahead of Pita Limjaroenrat of Move Forward (16.87%) and General Prayut Chan-o-cha of the United Thai Nation Party (8.13%).
However, 22.58% of the respondents remained unsure.
In the Nation Poll, Srettha defeated Anutin (7.45% to 2.7%).
