Introducing Mallika Jirapanwanich, a four-term Bhumjaithai Party MP and heir to a prominent family in Lopburi, who has never lost an election. Rumors circulate that she is preparing to become the First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
On 9 March 2026, the final cabinet lineup for the second Anutin government began to take shape, with the Blue Camp settling their positions.The executive branchhas been finalized smoothly, with all factions securing their posts. Meanwhile,the legislative sideremains undecided. Sopon Sarum, Deputy Prime Minister in the first Anutin cabinet and a key figure aligned with Newin Chidchob’s Buriram faction, is set to become Speaker of the House unopposed. The position of First Deputy Speaker was initially allocated to a Southern quota, but recent developments have placed Mallika Jirapanwanich, MP for Lopburi from Bhumjaithai Party, as the favored candidate ahead of the official vote on 15 March 2026.
Mallika Jirapanwanich, nicknamed Ple, was born on 22 May 1964 and is currently 61 years old. She is a native of Lopburi. She holds two bachelor's degrees: a Bachelor of Education in Secondary Education from Khon Kaen University and a Bachelor of Laws from Ramkhamhaeng University. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from Ramkhamhaeng University.
Mallika is the daughter of Kamol Jirapanwanich, a former eight-term MP for Lopburi from the Chart Thai Party who has since joined Bhumjaithai Party, and Payong Jirapanwanich. Her elder brother, Suban Jirapanwanich, was a former president of the Lopburi Provincial Administrative Organization and was tragically killed in a shooting on Khao San Road in 2011. The family is involved in the shopping center business in Lopburi and also operates a rice trading company called “Tha Khao Jirapanwanich.”
Mallika is also related to Orapin Jirapanwanich, a two-term president of the Lopburi Provincial Administrative Organization and wife of Suban, making her Mallika’s sister-in-law. The Jirapanwanich family is well known in Lopburi for never losing an election at either the local or national level.
Mallika began her political career in 1991 as a member of the Lopburi Municipal Council. In 2004, she was elected to the Lopburi Provincial Administrative Organization representing Tha Wung District. She entered national politics in 2009 by winning a by-election for the Lopburi MP seat under the Chart Thai Pattana Party, replacing her father Kamol who was banned from politics for five years due to party executive involvement. In 2011, she switched to Bhumjaithai Party and has since been elected three more times representing Mueang and Tha Wung districts.
As an MP, Mallika has played a significant role in proposing measures to combat drought affecting farmers in Lopburi and neighboring provinces, especially those growing rice, corn for livestock feed, cassava, and sugarcane. She advocated establishing a committee to review drought prevention and relief plans. She has also called for rice price compensation of 1,000 baht per rai, poverty alleviation, flood management, and supported amendments to referendum legislation.
In the 2026 election, Mallika won the Lopburi Constituency 2 seat with a commanding 55,191 votes, securing her fourth consecutive term as MP. During the first Anutin cabinet, she served as Deputy Minister of Transport, becoming the first female minister from Lopburi. In the second Anutin cabinet, she is rumored to have been entrusted with legislative affairs, set to assume the position of First Deputy Speaker of the House.