[1/2] FILE PHOTO-Pita Limjaroenrat, Move Forward Party's leader and prime ministerial candidate, reacts during an upcoming election campaign event in Bangkok, Thailand, April 22, 2023.
Pita Limjaroenrat, 42, the charismatic leader of the Move Forward party, jumped ahead of Paetongtarn Shinawatra of the main opposition Pheu Thai, with 29.37% support versus her 27.55% in a countrywide survey by Nation media group.
Reuters GraphicsBoth polls showed the pro-military Palang Pracharat party, the Democrats and Bhumjaithai - current coalition partners - trailing the opposition by a large margin.
Most experts believe Pheu Thai will need to form an alliance to govern and Paetongtarn on Wednesday hinted it could partner with Move Forward and ruled out military-backed parties.
Separately, a Super Poll survey on parties released on Friday of 14,332 people also showed Pheu Thai leading with 139 of 500 parliamentary seats, followed by Bhumjaithai with 112 seats, and Move Forward with 63 seats.