Pheu Thai Party is working hard to create a win-win situation during the upcoming by-election by deciding to field Kokaew Pikultong, one of the red-shirt leaders, as candidate for Bangkok's Constituency 6.
By fielding a red-shirt leader also means that the opposition party has decided to ally with the movement, something it was reluctant to do earlier.
Political analyst Sukhum Nualsakul said Pheu Thai Party was aiming for victory, and allying itself with the red-shirt movement would help make its voter base larger. Besides, if a red-shirt candidate faced obstacles in the election campaign, the party could always say its fight for justice was being hampered and win even more support.
Pheu Thai's Bangkok MP Vicharn Minchainant said: "Pheu Thai and the red shirts are accused of setting the country on fire anyway. This election would give us a chance to clarify ourselves and promote the party's policy at the same time.
"Considering this, it would be better to let a red-shirt leader, who knows what really happened, to speak and answer questions from the public," Vicharn said.
He added that Kokaew was not just qualified because of his red-shirt leadership, but also because he was an aide to Phumtham Wechayachai - a former deputy secretary-general of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party. He was also familiar with working with people in suburban areas like Constituency 6.
Kokaew is currently under remand at Klong Prem Central Prison on terrorism charges along with other red-shirt leaders and whether he will be released on bail to register his candidacy and lead election campaigns is still in question. Vicharn declined to reveal the party's plans about these issues.
When Natthawut was named as the party's potential candidate, Pheu Thai MP and red-shirt leader Jatuporn Promphan compared his chances to that of Northern Irish dissident Bobby Sands, who campaigned and won elections in 1981 from his prison cell.
However, many Democrat MPs say Pheu Thai and the red shirts are using jailed leaders as a tactic against the government. They say the government would be blamed if the candidate faces difficulties or loses the election, while the party could use the campaign period to revive the red-shirt movement.
Though neither Democrat nor Pheu Thai Party voiced blind confidence in winning, they both sounded positive.
The by-election is being held to fill the House seat left empty by the recent death of Democrat MP Tiva Ngernyuang. The constituency has been Pheu Thai's vote base since back from Thai Rak Thai Party's era.