"Everyone [in the ruling party] wants Thaksin as prime minister although he has yet to finalise a decision on his future," party secretarygeneral Suriya Jungrungreangkit said.

Suriya said that contrary to reports, six Cabinet members, including Somkid Jatusripitak, were not pressuring Thaksin to quit politics by threatening to absent themselves from the next government.

"No party member is trying to force any decision on Thaksin and none are leaving the party even though they had a 90day window of opportunity to do so," he said.

He said Thaksin would head the party's list of candidates for the 100 House seats under proportional representation.

Suriya said the ruling party was optimistic that voters would continue to support Thaksin's premiership, dismissing an Abac Poll survey that showed popular support for Somkid as the next prime minister.

Commenting on speculation about a rescheduling of the election, he said the Thai Rak Thai had no objection to the poll being postponed to December 10.

"The party is ready to contest the polls on any day specified by the Election Commission," he said.

Echoing Suriya, Thai Rak Thai executive Veera Musigapong said Thaksin was the most qualified person to lead the country.

"I am confident that Thaksin will lead the party to an electoral victory and form the next government," he said.

Veera said the party's workers had complete trust in Thaksin's leadership and asked reporters to stop asking questions aimed at distancing the organisation from its leader.

Peerapong Hengsawat, former government MP from Buri Ram, said that any Thai Rak Thai members opposed to Thaksin's comeback should seek a new political home instead of trying to fan infighting.

"The people, particularly those in the Northeast, still want Thaksin as their prime minister and anyone thinking otherwise should leave the ruling party," he said.

The Nation