Pedal power Giant-killing MP gears up to capitalise on poll win

At the small Bangkok shophouse that Rukchanok Srinork uses as an office, the A floor is cluttered with stacks of campaign signs and leaflets. There are bottles of Fanta and fruit donated by her supporters (orange is her party's colour). And, by the entrance stand her team's well-known bicycles

- Rebecca Ratcliffe , Pirada Anuwech

Rukchanok, also known as Ice, is one of many young MPs with the progressive Move Forward party, which stunned observers by taking the most seats in the 14 May election.

She became known online for cycling around her district, Bang Bon, in the sweltering Bangkok heat as part of a grassroots campaign. Her work paid off: she ousted the son of one of Thailand's powerful political families, defeating him by 21,000 votes.

One Thai media outlet called her a "giant killer" for taking the seat from Pheu Thai, the heavyweight opposition party. A social media post described her as the woman who "rode a bicycle to fell an elephant".

"We thought we could win," Rukchanok said last week. "We didn't expect to win this big." Her campaign was run on a more modest budget than others, she said.

In the mornings, she stood at a road junction, using the 90 or so seconds when traffic stopped at red lights to shout her campaign messages through a megaphone. Her team would hand out campaign leaflets fashioned into garlands or bags. In the afternoons, she cycled with a megaphone slung over her shoulder.