Somsak Thepsuthin, leader of the Palang Pracharath Party’s Sam Mitr (Three Allies) group, has dismissed as untrue rumours he would take 30 MPs to defect to the Pheu Thai Party unless his group gets the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry portfolio.
Mr Somsak held a media briefing on Friday morning to deny the widespread rumours.
According to some reports, the Democrat Party asked for the portfolio as one of its conditions to join the pro-military alliance when the PPRP’s leader and core members made a formal invitation to the Democrats to join its coalition earlier this week.
Thai media have reported the Sam Mitr has long had its eye on the ministry and perhaps might have been promised it by PPRP executives.
But the Sam Mitr group key leader insisted on Friday he had never made such a threat and was willing to accept the PPRP’s decisions involving the allocation of cabinet seats among the coalition.
Mr Somsak said the defection rumours caused damage to him and his group.
“I entered politics by joining the Social Action Party and there I stayed for a long time. When I joined the Thai Rak Thai Party, I was also with it until it was dissolved. Now that I'm with Palang Pracharath, I’ve never thought of leaving,” said the veteran politician.
On reports that Pheu Thai chief strategist Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan said she did not welcome him back to the party, Mr Somsak declined to comment, saying he did not hear it directly from her.
