BANGKOK - Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to the country after 15 years of self-imposed exile, to the delight of hundreds of excited supporters and a jail term of eight years.

The mixed reception underscores how controversial a figure the billionaire is in Thai politics. He is hugely popular among the rural poor and the grassroots due to populist policies, but was spurned by the military-royalist establishment, which regards him as a crony capitalist.

But his return home on Tuesday morning suggests a rapprochement of sorts with his old foes, say political observers.

It came hours before Parliament chose Mr Srettha Thavisin, 61, as the country’s next premier after three months of jostling among various political parties since the May 14 election.

The Pheu Thai Party, which Thaksin backs, had nominated Mr Srettha for the post. It was the front runner to establish the next government, after forming a coalition with military-allied parties.

Soon after his arrival, Thaksin, 74, made a brief appearance at the airport terminal lobby before he was whisked off to the Supreme Court and handed an eight-year jail sentence.

The jail term covers three different cases for abuse of power and malfeasance, illegally ordering a state-run bank to issue a foreign loan, and illegally holding shares via nominees, said the Supreme Court.

Thaksin was later transferred to Bangkok’s Khlong Prem Central Prison. The Department of Corrections said that due to his age and underlying medical issues, such as hypertension as well as heart and lung ailments, he will be held in a separate medical ward and monitored closely.

He can apply for a royal pardon from his first day in jail, the Thai authorities told local media.

Thaksin’s private jet, which flew in from Singapore, touched down at Don Mueang International Airport at 9am. 

He emerged about 20 minutes later, and one of the first things he did was to pay his respects to a portrait of Thailand’s King set up in front of the terminal doors.

Hundreds of ecstatic supporters, mostly older people, flanked the streets leading up to the airport terminal. Some had arrived the night before, and others in the wee hours of Tuesday. 

Mr Damrong Khongpanya, 61, embarked on an eight-hour journey to the airport by car from the north-eastern province of Nong Khai on Monday and arrived in Bangkok at 4am on Tuesday.

Seated on a makeshift mat by the road, the farmer expressed excitement at the former premier’s return.

“Even if I don’t get to see him in person, knowing that he is here is enough to make me happy,” he said.

Dressed in red – with many also wearing shirts bearing images of Thaksin and his sister, former premier Yingluck Shinawatra – several groups of supporters danced to songs in the north-eastern dialect and clutched bouquets of flowers they hoped to present to him.

“I love Thaksin!” some supporters shouted to foreign media who were taking photos of the crowds.

A few youthful supporters like Ms Hataichanok Srisunakhrua, 22, were among the throngs who pressed against the terminal fences hoping to catch a glimpse of Thaksin as he arrived.

“I don’t agree with people saying that Pheu Thai betrayed the voters. One of their main promises was to amend the Constitution, and that is what they have said is the priority,” the undergraduate said as passers-by nodded in agreement and some patted her on the back.

She was referring to the criticism directed against Pheu Thai, which is the election runner-up with 141 MPs, for forming a potential government coalition with other parties that include the pro-military ones that it had earlier promised not to partner with.

Some critics and former Pheu Thai supporters had called the partnership with the Palang Pracharath and the United Thai Nation – parties associated with the former junta government – a betrayal of supporters who were against military intervention in politics.

Another supporter, 65-year-old shopkeeper Siriphorn Panya, who had travelled from Thaksin’s home town of Chiang Mai in the north, said: “I am sure Pheu Thai has thought about it, and it was a necessary move.”

The Pheu Thai-led coalition comprises 11 parties with a total of 314 MPs. The party had ended its partnership with election winner Move Forward, which won 151 seats, after conservative and military-linked lawmakers said they would not support any coalition that included the reformist party.

Thaksin, who is historically a polarising figure in Thai politics, had earlier said his return was unrelated to the prime minister vote. 

Since his government was ousted in the 2006 military coup, Thaksin has voiced his intention to return multiple times.

But he had remained overseas since 2008, mostly based in Dubai, to avoid criminal charges in Thailand for corruption and abuse of power, which he says were politically motivated. 

Thaksin’s vows to come home had garnered more credence in the past months, with his daughter Ms Paetongtarn Shinawatra, 37, announcing specific times and dates for his return.

He had postponed his arrival twice in the last month amid uncertainties over the formation of the government, and many had been sceptical of his latest promise to return.