Anutin remains coy on who he will support after election

“Don’t ask me now about an inside or outside prime minister. Spare me. In case of emergency, let my party be the escapeway,” Anutin stressed in an interview with The Nation.
The remark came amid recent movements by the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) that show signs of political ambition.
As the election draws near, it is speculated that a pro-junta party will be set up to support General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s bid for premiership. The theory gained credence after the Cabinet appointed a veteran politician as Prayut’s political adviser two weeks ago.
Calling it a “headhunting phenomenon”, analysts said the general is building his base of alliances comprising old-face politicians to support his return after the next election alongside junta-appointed senators.
Anutin’s Bhum Jai Thai Party has subsequently been put in the spotlight. Because it is traditionally the third-placed party after Pheu Thai and the Democrats, political observers believe it should have enough seats to help realise the junta’s aspirations. 
Speculation has been fuelled by the fact that a mobile Cabinet meeting is set to take place in Buri Ram province, Bhum Jai Thai’s stronghold, next week. Observers right now are all ears about whether and how the junta and Anutin’s faction will make a deal.
But Anutin yesterday denied that this excursion was the negotiating table. “If they want to make a deal, they can do it right here or anywhere, any time at all. It doesn’t have to be in Buri Ram,” he said.
Noting that everyone is saying Prayut is now a “vacuum cleaner”, sucking up former MPs to join his new party, the Bhum Jai Thai leader said that this machine just did not work in his party. Even if it did, it would only suck out someone that the party did not want or someone that just wouldn’t be good for Prayut’s party anyway, he said.
“I don’t care about the amateurs. I only want the pros,” he said. “And the pros just don’t go around shifting between parties. They have their places in their parties and they stay. The amateurs, meanwhile, keep going around. But do they have any credibility?”
Considering the new voting method that only allows voters to cast a single ballot to give their vote to both the candidate and the party, major parties are likely to be at a disadvantage. The rise of medium-sized parties like Bhum Jai Thai is therefore on the cards. Some critics even say it is possible that Anutin could be the next prime minister – a middleman who takes the job after the major parties and MPs fail to reach agreement. But Anutin said no to that without hesitation. 
“This is the third-place party. Me, the prime minister? Really?” he said. “I’m telling you, it has to be respectable. I’m not going to be anyone’s puppet. The middleman idea is just not possible in this age.”
However, Anutin said he is not taking sides either – not now.
“Everything depends on the election. If I say something now, those favouring the military won’t choose me. Likewise, if I say I’m with the military, those preferring democracy won’t vote for me. That’s just going to be bad.” He reiterated the election result is the key. 
“What do you want me to say now? I can’t. What if I win 250 seats? Do I have to share that with anyone? No, I’ll keep it all to myself. And if I have five seats, they won’t like to sit with me either. That’s a fact.
“Just respect the election result. This time, there is no excuse not to. No parties have had state power in the past four years. You cannot say they won because they exploited that power,” Anutin said.
“Bhum Jai Thai, too, we will be straightforward. We will do our best. We will respect the law. And if we lose, we accept that we just suck.”