Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he may have lost his "political magic", and that he is very old now and some younger people may not recognise his past achievements.
However, he said he believed that Pheu Thai would perform well in the general election in 2027 and win at least 200 House seats.
Thaksin made the remarks as some political analysts have questioned if Thaksin's political power was still strong after the ruling Pheu Thai Party did not win in as many provinces in the provincial administration organisation (PAO) elections on Feb 1 as Thaksin, the party's de facto leader, had expected.
Thaksin also campaigned for Pheu Thai candidates in the PAO chief elections in several provinces.
Pheu Thai and Thaksin appeared to have lost their grip on several constituencies in the North and Northeast, which were once party strongholds, while the Bhumjaithai Party, a coalition government member, performed better than expected in the elections.
Pheu Thai candidates secured the leadership of 10 provincial administrative organisations, while candidates affiliated with the party won six, followed by Bhumjaithai, which took 14.
The People's Party won only one province -- Lamphun -- despite fielding candidates in 17.
Asked whether he may have lost "his political magic", Thaksin said: "I don't have any [political] magic. I am 76. Most people aged below 40 cannot remember my achievements," Thaksin said.
"But they will start to understand someday. Pheu Thai still won many seats. But there were a few provinces where the outcomes were not what we had expected... But overall, we did not miss the target by too much," Thaksin said.
Asked if Pheu Thai would be able to establish a single-party government, Thaksin said, "We don't want to become a single-party government. It is not good if we don't have friends. We need friends. But too many of them will cause a headache."
However, Stithorn Thananithichot, director of the Office of Innovation for Democracy at King Prajadhipok's Institute, said that Pheu Thai, which had the backing of Thaksin, was still hard to compete with in the PAO elections, particularly in the Northeast.
Newly elected PAO chiefs from Pheu Thai are also expected to receive the government's full support to enable them to improve the local economy, Mr Stithorn said.
"The ten provinces won by Pheu Thai in the PAO elections are still a great boon for the ruling party," Mr Stithorn said.
Political parties view the polls as an opportunity to build alliances with local political clans and strengthen their support bases for the general election in 2027, according to observers.
However, Mr Stithorn said that it will still be difficult for Pheu Thai to regain a political foothold in Chiang Mai in the next general election following its defeat to the now-dissolved Move Forward Party (MFP) in the election in 2023.