Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday he would urge his supporters to accompany him to Government House if his opponents continue their protest outside the compound after the April 2 general election.

"From now on, until April 2, you should think about one thing - electing Thaksin as the next prime minister and waiting for the news on April 3. If they [the protesters] don't budge, I'll ask all of you to send me to Government House," Thaksin said during an evening election rally in Chiang Rai.

He asked the audience if they would help him into his office if the protesters besieging the compound did not allow him in after the election victory. The response was a resounding "Yes!" from the audience of more than 50,000.

Thaksin said he had asked the same question of supporters at election rallies in other provinces.

Using fiery language, he attacked his opponents and members of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which has been staging a continuous anti-Thaksin rally outside Government House since last Tuesday.

"Those people at Rajdamnoen Avenue were involved in bringing down several previous governments. But they forget that they won't be able to overthrow a government with strong popular backing," Thaksin said in the northern dialect to more than 50,000 supporters.

"Those people look down on people like you. They think they are smarter than you are. You must think out loud so they can hear that you want Thaksin to be your prime minister," he said.

He pointed to what he viewed as the weaknesses of media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul and austere Buddhist Chamlong Srimuang, who are among the PAD's five leaders. The premier said Sondhi

was bankrupt, while Chamlong was "neither a layman nor a

priest".

"The Campaign for Popular Democracy [CPD] is now campaigning for no democracy," he said, referring to the PAD's demand that he - an elected prime minister - should quit. The CPD's secretary-general Suriyasai Katasila is one of the alliance's leaders.

Thaksin said the Democrat Party, which is boycotting the ballot with two other opposition parties, was afraid of losing in the polls.

"The reason the opposition and the protesting senators want a change in the Constitution is so that Thaksin will get out of politics. They don't think they can ever beat me so they want me to stay away from the contest," he said.

The premier said he would protect democracy with his life and would never allow anyone to disrupt Thai democracy.

He said the reason he had stayed away from the besieged Government House was he wanted to avoid a confrontation. "I am not a coward as they have said. I want peace in our society. I don't want to see a clash [between the two sides]."

The Nation

Chiang Rai