Dithering Newin leaves Bhum Jai Thai rudderless

The Supreme Court last Tuesday acquitted Bhum Jai Thai MP Boonjong Vongtrairat of vote-buying charges filed by the Election Commission. Had Boonjong been red-carded, his party would have been dissolved.
It is widely known that Newin, the de-facto leader of Bhum Jai Thai, was once fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra’s close aide, before he turned a foe. Thaksin and the red shirts view Newin as a traitor. And in the current political situation, those who are on the opposite side of Thaksin would certainly struggle to survive.
With 34 MP seats, the party’s direction looked lost and gloomy. Newin realised that he was the main factor behind the problem so he tried to keep a low profile. He turned his focus on sport and now owns the Thai Premier League’s Buriram United football club.
Newin, who will complete his five-year ban from politics in May, has repeatedly said he will not return to politics. His remark created more confusion among his party MPs as they could not see any bright prospects for themselves by staying with the party.
So, it was not surprising to see some reports that six of his party members under the party’s Matchima faction, led by banned politician Somsak Thepsuthin, were preparing to defect to the ruling Pheu Thai Party after last year’s general election results in July.
Somsak, the former head of the Wang Nam Yom faction in the now defunct Thai Rak Thai Party, was an ally of Thaksin’s sister Yaowapa Wongsawat, head of the Wang Bua Ban faction in the same party. Reports said that Somsak has been given the green light by Thaksin to rejoin Pheu Thai.
Several Northeast MPs are reportedly also looking for a new future by returning to the ruling Pheu Thai.
Bhum Jai Thai Party spokesman Supachai Chaisamut tried to set right the disarray in the party. He affirmed that the party was still united and there were no defector MPs at all.
“When other key party leaders are freed from the ban both Newin and Anutin [Charnvirakul] will return to politics and strengthen our party to become the third-largest party,” he said recently.
Ironically, though Newin is the real party leader it seems nobody feels confident despite hearing that he will return to lead the party. If he lets the turmoil in his party continue, his party could be finished. This situation has forced Newin to find a new leader.
Somkid Jatusripitak, also a banned politician, became Newin’s first choice. It was reported that the Buriram United chairman had approached the former deputy prime minister, finance, and commerce minister in Thaksin’s administration to lead his party.
But Somkid may not be a good choice. He was once regarded as Thaksin’s thorn in the side as he is known to have wanted to replace Thaksin as prime minister in the past.
Hence, Newin had a plan B. Anutin, a key member of Bhum Jai Thai Party and son of current party leader Chaovarat Chanweerakul was the other choice if Somkid declined to return to politics.
Anutin, who is a party financier, gets a lot of respect from party members. So, it would not be a tough task for him to lead the party. He could change the hearts of defector MPs. And most importantly, Anutin still has a good relationship with Thaksin. He could be a good choice for Newin.
Anutin’s stakes are high. Not only does he have to survive in politics but also try to secure his family’s business, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction. His business empire could be the main factor in forcing him to reunite with Thaksin.
For Bhum Jai Thai, the good news is it still has bright prospects but the bad news is the future does not seem to include Newin.