Around 50 politicians from Chumphon have defected from the United Thai Nation Party (UTN) to join Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s Bhumjaithai Party (BJT).
The group was officially welcomed at BJT headquarters yesterday, September 17, by senior party figure Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn. Among the defectors were Chumphon MPs Chumpol Chulasai and Wichai Sudsawat, along with Nopporn Usit, president of the Chumphon Provincial Administration Organisation. Both MPs will automatically lose their seats as a result of crossing the floor.
Chumpol explained that his faction could not accept UTN’s decision to withhold support for Anutin as prime minister.
“I expect many more UTN members will follow us into BJT.”
Anutin secured the premiership earlier this month thanks to backing from the opposition-aligned People’s Party (PP), which delivered 143 crucial votes during the September 5 parliamentary ballot. To secure that support, Anutin signed an agreement with PP leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, agreeing to several strict conditions.
The pact required him to dissolve the House of Representatives within four months of presenting his government’s policy platform, refrain from manoeuvring to form a majority government, and back constitutional reform.
Without the PP’s support, the BJT coalition would have commanded only 146 MPs in the 492-member House, with eight seats vacant, according to Bangkok Post.
This week’s defections follow an earlier move by a separate bloc of 16 UTN MPs led by deputy leader Suchart Chomklin, who had already thrown their weight behind Anutin. The latest mass switch signals deeper fractures within UTN and a growing consolidation of support for BJT under Anutin’s leadership.
Anutin’s rise to prime minister came after his predecessor, Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the Pheu Thai Party, was ousted for serious ethical violations. The ruling followed her controversial phone call with Cambodian strongman Hun Sen during recent armed clashes on the border.
With Chumphon’s political base now firmly tilting towards BJT, analysts say the move could further stabilise Anutin’s fragile coalition in the short term, though questions remain over how long he can govern under the conditions set by PP.
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