The Democrat Party has put two high-profile politicians in charge of regaining its foothold in Bangkok in the next general election although party insiders remain coy about its MP seat target in the capital.
Suchatvee Suwansawat, a former Democrat governor candidate, and Watanya "Madam Dear" Bunnag, have been named head of the party's policy team and head of the political innovation team respectively. Their appointments have been signed off on by party leader Jurin Laksanawisit.
Both teams will focus on electioneering in Bangkok in the months leading up to the next polls tentatively set for May 7 next year, according to Ong-art Klampaiboon, the Democrat deputy leader.
He stressed the significance of devising the right strategy to capture votes in Bangkok where House seats are up for grabs across 33 constituencies, up from 30 in the March 2019 elections.
Mr Ong-art said the party has prepared a team of young candidates, which included a number of former MPs.
Mr Suchatvee said tackling Bangkok's problems, which are structural and deep-rooted, requires an integrated approach. The Democrats' policies will be people-centric, practical, relevant, and forward-looking, he said.
The party has been on the ground gathering public input that has been formulated into the policies, he added.
Also, Ms Watanya has defined political innovation as being part and parcel of public participation in the party's work.
Her team is built on constructive ideas, driven by people who think out of the box, said Ms Watanya, who recently defected from the ruling Palang Pracharath Party. She said she made it clear when she joined the Democrats that she would become a bridge between the young and older generations.
Mr Ong-art said the party would field candidates in all 33 constituencies of Bangkok and unveil them when the Election Commission has finalised the boundaries of the constituencies.
Despite expressing his confidence in the Democrats making a comeback in Bangkok, he said it was premature to predict how the party will fare in the next election. Earlier, Niphon Bunyamanee, the party election director, estimated the Democrats stood to win 7-8 House seats.
The Democrats, traditionally a mainstay in Bangkok constituencies, were wiped out in the capital in the previous election.
