"The ruling party will likely win every House seat from the Northeast at the upcoming election," he said.

Thamarak said Thaksin had boosted voters' confidence in the party.

"The party is on the right track regarding its policies and will churn out additional measures in order to make itself more appealing to voters," he said.

Although the rival Democrat Party was boasting about its platform, voters would likely go by the ruling party's track record for policy implementation rather than opt for untried measures, he said.

In contrast to Thamarak's optimism, a former government MP from the Wang Nam Yom faction said voters were reluctant to continue supporting the party if Thaksin refused to take a political break.

"Voters keep pressing for a clear answer on Thaksin's future," he said on condition of anonymity.

Many former MPs had conducted a series of straw polls and found that the ruling party's popularity had dropped to an alarming level, he said.

He said the ruling party could not win 300 of 500 House seats, deemed a most generous estimate, should Thaksin decide to cling to office.

A member of Chan Song La faction, a clique directly under Thaksin's wife Pojaman, countered that the ruling party could not survive without Thaksin's leadership.

"If Thaksin decides to exit politics now, the ruling party will have no selling point for voters," he said.

Whatever course Thaksin takes, he should finalise his decision after the polls, he added.