Rural Thai voters shift old loyalties, testing Pheu Thai's populist machine

People hold up election campaign brochures of Sudarat Pitakpornpunlop, a parliamentary candidate for the Bhumjaithai Party, during her election campaign rally in Woen Buek village, Khong Chiam district, Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand, January 24, 2026. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

UBON RATCHATHANI, Thailand, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Rubber farmer Pinittaya Boonlieng sat with ‌friends in a key political battleground in Thailand to discuss how to vote in the February 8 general election - a choice that once would have been simple in a region long ‌loyal to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin's populist Pheu Thai party has dominated agrarian Ubon Ratchathani and neighbouring provinces in northeastern Thailand for decades, but that grip is weakening and voters are ‌switching allegiance to powerful individual candidates.