This week, Action Coalition for Thailand (ACT) co-founder Suthep Thaugsuban was thought to have directed a gibe at an unlikely target -- the Democrat Party.
Chadchart: Pheu Thai PM candidate
Mr Suthep used to serve as the Democrat's secretary-general and retained close ties with many of its members and executives. His career in public office peaked while he was a Democrat member -- that was when he was named deputy prime minister under the Abhisit Vejjajiva administration.
Political pundits once believed Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep, who together ran the government from December 2008 to August 2011, were inseparable.
Few people would have anticipated that one day the two men would part ways, with Mr Suthep breaking away from the Democrat Party at the onset of protests in late 2013.
Since the fall of the Yingluck government in May 2014, Mr Suthep has consistently thrown his support behind the coup architect -- the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) -- while Mr Abhisit has been less keen on giving the regime credit for steering the country away from the democratic path.
Mr Abhisit has been one of the most vocal critics of the NCPO's policies -- including what other critics have slammed as futile national reforms -- and pledges that have rode high on the coup makers' list of goals.
But observers have said that the most decisive litmus test of the bond between Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep came recently as parties began gearing up for the next poll.
A sore point emerged when Chumpol Julsai, a former PDRC core member, was issued an ultimatum by the Democrats to convince his older brother, Supol Julsai, not to stand in a different Chumphon constituency for the ACT. Otherwise, he would lose his own bid to stand under the Democrats' ticket.
Democrat executives reportedly suspected Mr Chumpol and his brother of colluding to give the ACT an edge.
However, the Democrats finally decided to field Mr Chumpol in the election, on the back of Mr Abhisit's warning that he must avoid causing confusion among voters, and to only canvass votes in the party's name only.
Mr Chumpol is believed to have maintained close relationships with Mr Suthep and other leading ACT members.
He reportedly passed up a chance to run as an ACT candidate. Mr Chumpol insisted that despite the spat with the Democrats and his pillorying the party for being unfair in trying to interfere with his brother's political decisions, quitting the party would be the last thing he would do.
However, Mr Suthep was displeased by Mr Chumpol's situation and declared that the ACT would not be dictated to by its party leader and was free of a "grovelling" culture.
Some critics have interpreted the comment as a reference to the Democrat Party and the way it has treated Mr Chumpol. But others thought it was not in Mr Suthep's nature to attack the Democrats, when he knows full well that after the election, the ACT might need to team up with the Democrats as a part of a wider coalition, assuming the ACT is able to garner enough seats.
Mr Suthep gave stern-worded statements that the ACT is committed to fielding candidates who can win on merit and not because they are under the shadow of the party.
Observers said the ACT and the Democrats will be competing head-to-head in many constituencies because both are likely to acquire the largest amounts of seats in the South.
Nevertheless, "early rivalry" may already have been felt in the wake of the Chumpol spat, and it may be unnerving for both Mr Abhisit and Mr Suthep to be in competition, in light of the existing dynamics between them.
Ittiporn: Expects poll results by May 9
PM candidacy splits Pheu Thai
The Pheu Thai Party may not be the subject of envy it once was, with political tussles knocking the party left, right and sideways.
The former ruling party, which romped to victory in 2011 and installed Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister, has been left bleeding by former MP defections.
Then came a surprising split when leading Pheu Thai members broke away one by one to form the Thai Raksa Chart Party which trumpeted a younger generation of executives among its ranks and who promised to chart a new course for Thai politics.
The former Pheu Thai stalwarts appointed to the Thai Raksa Chart executive board, included Chaturon Chaisang who was made chairman of the party's strategy committee.
Pheu Thai is also reportedly fighting to regain political ground it has lost to the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), which has made rapid advances in the Northeast, a Pheu Thai stronghold.
In Phayao province, Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, head of Pheu Thai's strategy committee, complained the party was was being bullied by "someone with power in Bangkok" who was behind an order to deny Pheu Thai using a rally venue.
However, observers say the most serious threat to Pheu Thai's chances at the next poll comes from within.
According to a political source, the party has been rocked from the outset by a leadership vacuum. Viroj Pao-in has been called many names including Pheu Thai's "stand-in leader" and its "clerical boss".
But some observers were disappointed to learn that Pol Lt Gen Viroj has returned to the fold as leader. At the same time, Khunying Sudarat, who had been heavily speculated to assume the party leadership, was appointed head of the advisory panel instead.
It was reported Khunying Sudarat has had problems winning over many factions in the party. She has secured a strong electoral following in some Bangkok constituencies but not outside the capital.
Pheu Thai factions dominating provinces in the North and Northeast were said to be lukewarm on the idea of Khunying Sudarat leading the party into the election. The source said certain members were less than happy with Khunying Sudarat who was nowhere to be found when Pheu Thai had slumped to its lowest ebb after the 2014 coup, only to suddenly reappear on the political stage when the party was electing its leader.
However, despite having missed out as leader, Khunying Sudarat is believed to be holding the power cards in Pheu Thai as the party's chief adviser.
With the leadership race over, attention has now switched to who will be nominated as Pheu Thai's choices for prime minister.
The nomination choices have led to a rift between Pheu Thai and former deputy transport minister Chadchart Sittipunt.
Although there is enough room for Khunying Sudarat and Mr Chadchart to both be nominated as candidates, Mr Chadchart's emergence has raised eyebrows.
The source said Mr Chadchart could not be overlooked after a survey showed Pheu Thai would win more seats in the poll if the former deputy transport minister -- popular with a sizeable segment of social media users -- was listed as a prime minister candidate.
The source added Mr Chadchart's inclusion in the prime minister candidacy equation demonstrated an apparent polarisation in Pheu Thai.
Khunying Sudarat has denied there is competition between her and Mr Chadchart. However, Mr Chadchart's rising presence could be unnerving for Khunying Sudarat.
Suthep: ACT is free of 'grovelling'
Poll delay stirs up legal debate
The 150-day time frame for organising a general election seemed to be widely well-understood until recently when the government suggested the Feb 24 polls be postponed to prevent the election process overlapping with the coronation ceremonies scheduled to take place from May 4-6.
In dispute now is whether the 150-day deadline covers just the ballot-casting or if it includes the endorsement of the election results by the Election Commission (EC), which is required to announce the poll's outcome within 60 days.
The clock started ticking following the enforcement of the last of the 10 organic laws -- which took effect on Dec 11 of last year. At that time the election was understood to have been scheduled for Feb 24, so the 150-day posed zero concern.
With the election expected to be delayed, debate has erupted whether the deadline includes the poll result endorsement process.
The government and the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) agree that the time frame is exclusively for ballot-casting. Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam and charter writer Chartchai Na Chiangmai have agreed that May 9 is the last day when the election must be held.
Critics, who mostly call themselves "pro-election" and "pro-democracy" warned that if the election is to be postponed for several weeks, the results might be announced beyond the 150-day deadline, which could lead to the poll being nullified.
The EC, which is authorised to set the poll date, has refused to be drawn into the debate.
Its president, Ittiporn Boonpracong, has insisted the agency is prepared for the elections and it will organise and announce the poll results by May 9. According to Mr Ittiporn, the EC will meet to set the poll date as soon as a royal decree announcing the general election is published in the Royal Gazette.
The EC's stance on the issue has struck some political observers as unusual, especially when the government and the CDC share the view and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, via his deputy secretary-general Buddhipongse Punnakanta, has urged relevant authorities to seek opinions from the CDC.
In an interview, Mr Ittiporn treated Gen Prayut's remark as a suggestion and commented that the EC members have discussed among themselves the 150-day deadline, but not reached a conclusion.
"We'll have to hear what the Constitutional Court, or the CDC, or the Council of State have to say. But at this stage, we have not sought opinions on the deadline issue because we intend to finalise the election process, which includes the endorsement of the poll result, within 150 days," Mr Ittiporn said.
A source close to the poll agency sees the government's suggestion as a hint that it wants the polls to be further delayed. It is widely believed that the government wants the election to take place on March 24.
According to the source, the EC is unlikely to dance to the government's tune because if the constitutional requirements about the election cannot be met, it is the EC who will have to take the rap. While the EC is likely to allow some delay, it will push the polls back no later than two weeks from Feb 24, or no later than March 10.
