The conservatives know they're going to get hammered in the election yet they still hope Prayuth or Pravit can be PM.
How?
The constitution doesn't limit the length of time that a new government must be formed within post election.
So Prayut continues as a caretaker government, he's got the senators, the MPs from the present government. All he has to do is 'persuade' enough PT MPs to switch sides, as they've done before, and hey! Bob, or rather Tu, is your uncle again.
I hope I'm wrong but the deliberate loophole of no time limit to form a government is a worry.