THAI ELECTION: Thaksin jailed on return to Thailand after 15 years

"There are certainly elements within Pheu Thai that would prefer to see it positioned as post-Thaksin rather than a pro-Thaksin party," said Duncan McCargo, professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University and author of a book on the former prime minister.

"Some Pheu Thai supporters can accept the logic that the party needs to take a pragmatic road back to power and place primary importance on Pheu Thai securing key economic ministries so they can address core livelihood concerns and grievances," McCargo said. "But for hard-core Red Shirts and those who have always seen Pheu Thai as an ideological party engaged in a struggle on behalf of the underdog, this kind of deal-making is a betrayal."

Prof McCargo's ongoing conversations about Thailand's political landscape are intrinsically rooted in his research, which primarily centres on the fundamental concept of power.

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