It is the kind of rockstar reception an Australian politician could only dream of, but for Pita Limjaroenrat, it’s a daily reality right now.
As the 42-year-old stands on the back of a ute parked at a busy Bangkok market and spruiks his Move Forward party’s policies, fans feverishly snap photos from their phones, scream his name, and hand him flowers.
“I love him and want to hug him!” one supporter shouts as the Thai prime ministerial candidate comes into view.
“He is the future,” another adds.
“I heard he was coming, so I made my son drive me here right away!” a third person says.
“I truly believe in him.”
The ute rolls slowly around the neighbourhood, with motorbike riders pulling alongside it for Mr Pita’s autograph.
Cars and trucks toot their horns, and a group of teenagers run excitedly along the footpath waving and trying to keep up.
Thailand heads to the polls for a general election this Sunday and if the opinion polls are to be believed, Mr Pita is at the top of the list for preferred prime minster.
The popularity of Mr Pita’s party is no mean feat given where the party was just four years ago.
The dissolved party that sparked an uprising
At the 2019 election, Move Forward – then known as Future Forward – won more than six million votes and 81 seats, making it the third largest party in the Thai parliament.
But the honeymoon did not last.
Within a year, the constitutional court dissolved Future Forward over a funding irregularity and banned its most senior executives from politics for a decade, including 40-year-old leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit.
The 65 members left in parliament were a lonely, progressive voice in a conservative, military-backed house.
Then came Mr Pita: a Harvard-educated businessman who took on the role of party leader.
The young father had made the transition to politics from a career in business, after rescuing his family’s ailing agriculture company and having served as executive director of ride-share service Grab.
As he set about rebuilding the party, a movement was brewing.
People had begun protesting on the streets in response to the constitutional court ruling to dissolve Future Forward.
By the end of 2020, this had snowballed into huge demonstrations of young people demanding Prime Minister and 2014 military coup leader Prayuth Chan-ocha resign and the constitution be rewritten.
Then, in a move that shocked the nation, protesters also began calling for the monarchy to be reformed, breaking a longstanding taboo not to criticise Thailand’s royal family.
The government eventually stifled demonstrations with riot police using rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon, and by prosecuting ring leaders under the strict royal defamation law.
Young businessman shaking up the campaign
Mr Pita said he believes that series of events has left a legacy of anger that will propel the Move Forward vote.
“I’m sure the frustration is there and it will be shown in the ballot, for sure,” he said.
“Thais will prove that ballot is stronger than the bullets, back like how [American] President Abraham Lincoln said two hundred years ago, will happen in Thailand this year.”
Mr Pita’s family is no stranger to politics. He is the nephew of Padung Limjaroenrat, a close aide of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, while his later father was an advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture.
As the election has ramped up, he has been out urging people all over the country to make sure they cast their ballot.
“We need to win by a landslide, so please come out and vote for us,” he tells the crowds.
“Please help Move Forward … to reach our dreams to become government.”
More than a dozen of the anti-government protesters who took to the streets in 2019 and were charged are now running as Move Forward candidates.
Activist Chonthicha Jangrew is facing 28 criminal charges, including two of royal defamation, which each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years jail.
If the 30-year-old is convicted, she would not be able to serve in parliament, but she is hopeful the charges will not stick.
As she campaigns door-to-door in her province of Pathum Thani, north of Bangkok, she has an unusual pitch.
She asks people to vote for her because of her bravery to speak up.
“I might be useful to push some laws through parliament, particularly those relating to human rights,” Ms Chonthicha said.
“I think I might be able to fulfil in parliament those demands I once called for on the street.”
The secret to Move Forward’s success
Professor Siripan Nogsuan Sawasdee from the Faculty of Political Science at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University said Move Forward’s popularity had been “increasing every day”.
“My calculation is that about 60-70 per cent of the younger generation would prefer the Move Forward,” Professor Siripan told the ABC.
“And older generations are being persuaded by their sons and daughters and nieces and nephews to vote for Move Forward as well.”
The party’s main policies aim to demilitarise, decentralise, and de-monopolise Thailand.
It also wants to reform the royal defamation law, end mandatory military conscription, and hold a referendum to prevent any future military dictatorships.
Professor Siripan said she believed the party’s growing popularity came down clear policies that go against military-backed parties, a willingness to shake up the system, and a likeable leader.
“Pita the party leader seems to be the model for the younger generation. He is good looking and he is good communicating his message to the public,” she said.
Despite its popularity, it is unlikely Move Forward will win power.
Analysts predict the next government will be a coalition and any alliance would be wary of a party whose policies include reform of the monarchy.
Some believe Move Forward has already made its mark though, by firmly establishing a progressive agenda in mainstream Thai politics.
“It’s a point of no return, you cannot get rid of them,” political science professor Prajak Kongkirati at Bangkok’s Thammasat University said.
“They represent a new kind of generation, a new kind of voters in Thailand who need a real change.”
How the election campaign is heating up
Not everyone is on board with Move Forward being the right move for the country, and just days before the poll Mr Pita is under scrutiny.
Ruangkrai Leekitwattana, a candidate with the conservative Palang Pracharath Party, has petitioned the Election Commission and the National Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the Move Forward leader.
Mr Ruangkrai argued Mr Pita inherited shares in a media company from his late father, and should be disqualified according to a law, which stops shareholders of media companies contesting a general election.
“I’d like the EC to quickly act in this case as its decision could change the outcome of the election,” Mr Ruangkrai said.
Mr Pita denied the claims, tweeting: “I am not worried about the case because the shares are not mine”.
“It’s a family heritage, and I’m the manager of that. I informed the National Anti-Corruption Commission about this a long time ago,” he added.
At the same time, other parties aligned with the military are trying to convince Thai voters that the radical changes proposed by Move Forward would not be good for Thailand.
The United Thai Nation party, led by incumbent Mr Prayuth, 69, has released a video with actors portraying ominous scenes of a country that has changed for the worse.
The video warns of poverty for the elderly, disrespectful children, vandalism of national monuments, a depleted defence force, and young women turning to pornography.
It ends with the question: “Do you really want to see Thailand change?”
Mr Prayuth, who is currently running a distant third in opinion polls, has also released a get-to-know-me style video titled, ‘Talk With Uncle’.
In the video, the former army chief sits in a relaxed setting, wearing a shirt with love hearts on it, and speaks about his personal life.
“I am a kind uncle who loves everyone,” he said in the video.
Who are the other major players at this election?
Pheu Thai is the latest iteration of controversial former PM Thaksin Shinawatra’s party.
His daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 36, property mogul Srettha Thavisin, 60, and former attorney-general Chaikasem Nitisiri, 74, are the party’s three nominees for prime minister.
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Ms Paetongtarn, who gave birth to her second child last week, was topping the polls for preferred prime minister, but has recently been overtaken in some by Mr Pita.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, 77, is the prime ministerial candidate for the Palang Pracharath party.
It was formed by leaders of the 2014 coup and was the main party in the ruling coalition before the house was dissolved ahead of this election.
Thailand’s so-called ‘Cannabis King’ Anutin Charnvirakul, 56, leads the Bhumjaithai Party.
As health minister in the ruling coalition, he championed the decriminalisation of cannabis in 2022, but laws to regulate its use are stuck in the parliament.
Sunday’s election will decide the 500 seats of the house of representatives.
Those lower house representatives, as well as the 250 members of the military-appointed senate, will then vote to choose the prime minister.
Opposition parties would need to win 376 lower house seats to have a strong enough majority to ensure their candidate can be elected as prime minister.
