Surging in polls, Thailand's reformist opposition tests new election playbook

FILE PHOTO: Chair of the House Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, National Strategy and National Reform and a member of the opposition People's Party, Rangsiman Rome, speaks during an interview with Reuters amid a mounting crackdown on scam centres operating along a porous border in Bangkok, Thailand February 26, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Suen/File Photo

BANGKOK, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Three years ago, a ‌party of reform-minded progressives swept Thailand's election in the wake of mass anti-establishment protests only to be blocked from taking power and forced to disband.

Now reborn as the People's Party, ‌Thai voters are once again backing the progressives' promises of change, making the partythe clear frontrunner for the February 8 polls, ahead of rivals that joined forces against its ‌predecessor after the last election in 2023.