Abhisit took with him his teenage nephew, crowd-pleaser Prit Wacharasintu, or Nong Ice-cream, hailed in the media as his would-be political heir.
That's Ice-cream in the white T-shirt, holding aloft a campaign sign. On Saturday they campaigned for votes at Fashion Island shopping mall in Khan Na Yao district.
One media report says Abhisit and Nong Ice-cream were swamped with requests for autographs.
Abhisit (in shirt-sleeves) and Nong Ice-cream, 17, were stumping for Democrat Party candidate Panich Vikitsreth (in pink).
His main opponent, Korkaew Pikulthong, of the Puea Thai Party, has the cachet of campaigning for this election from jail, where he is being held on charges in relation to the red shirt protest which ended in May.
Korkaew, a member of the anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, is likely to attract sympathy votes, if nothing else.
He was allowed out of jail to register his candidacy late last month, but had to go straight back to the clink again.
He wanted to wear his fetching prison garb to the registration office, but the Justice Ministry turned him down.
Nong Ice-cream (พริษฐ วัชรสินธุ น้องไอติม), youngest son of Abhisit's elder sister, studies at Eton College in England, but is home during the term break. He wants to pursue studies in politics after he leaves school.
He has attracted plenty of publicity since his return. The Nation Weekly is running a ‘special interview’ with him and Panich's teenage son, Prom - another political aficionado - this week.
Abhisit knows the publicity value of Nong Ice-cream, who has stumped for the Democrats' by-election candidate several times since the campaign began.
‘No one forces me to be here. I am a party member, and do it because I enjoy it,’ Nong Ice-cream told the media.
Days before, Abhisit was caught in a political row over the utterances of a teen more hostile to his cause – Academy Fantasia contestant Withawat 'Mark' Thaokhamlue, who left an anti-Abhisit tirade at his Facebook page before entering the competition three weeks ago.
Mark, 17, lashed out at Abhisit for refusing to resign during the red shirt riots. Troops broke up the protest on May 19. Before they retreated to the provinces, red shirts set fire to parts of Bangkok.
‘You can resign now! Stupid Abhisit. If Abhisit resigned, it would have ended. Would the red shirts have protested to this extent?’ Mark said his message.
‘If it had been me, I would have quit a long time ago. What now, it’s all burnt. What are you going to do about it?
‘You are probably scared you will be left without a job. You’re not as rich as [former prime minister] Thaksin Shinawatra. You’re scared of dying. Scared to leave the country without money,’ Mark said in his Facebook message.
On Saturday, Mark appeared for the first - and last - time at an Academy Fantasia concert, after his decision three days before to withdraw from the seventh series of the reality show/performance contest in a show of contrition for his anti-Abhisit remarks.
The media had come upon his remarks, and decided he should be punished for daring to criticise the prime minister.
Mark’s show of penance didn’t end there. The week before, his parents withdrew him from the first weekly decider concert, after news broke about his disrespectful Abhisit comments.
In the eyes of the Bangkok media, Mark - who polled way ahead of rival candidates at AF House - had betrayed himself as a red shirt supporter. Mark comes from Chiang Mai, a stronghold of the red shirts' champion Thaksin.
Last week, Mark, who scores an impressive grade average of 4 at school, went before the media to apologise to Abhisit for his comments.
At his concert appearance, he asked Thais to forgive him. ‘I would like to serve as a role model to teenagers, and the need for Thais to put aside our political differences and unite for the pleasure of the King,’ said Mark.
Abhisit, whose nickname is also Mark, denied ever holding a grudge against AF’s Mark, but came under opposition party fire nonetheless.
The Puea Thai Party accused the government of ordering AF’s organisers to boot Mark off the show - a claim the government denies.
Mark’s utterances set off a row about the (narrow) bounds of Thai freedom of speech (see this piece).
Despite the humiliating show of penance which AF's Mark was forced to perform at the behest of his parents, the outspoken young man from Chiang Mai may have the last laugh.
Before he entered AF House, Mark sent in an audition tape to Korean entertainment label JYP Entertainment, home to superstar Rain, and Thai singer Nichkhun Horvejkul.
JYP, says Mark’s Dad, is interested in hearing more from Mark.
Even as the one-eyed Bangkok media has written off Mark’s chances – having ‘disgraced’ himself as a red shirt, he can hardly expect to go any further in public life – the Koreans, who have spotted the young man’s talent as a performer, would like to take matters further.
Mark, a self-confessed fan of Thaksin, says he would like to study dermatology with a view to opening his own cosmetic surgery clinic, rather than pursue a performing career in Korea.
However, the fuss over his anti-Abhisit comments has also rekindled his interest in politics. A career as an MP can't be ruled out.
Abhisit said while he welcome criticism, it should be couched in appropriate language. Teenagers should mind their manners when speaking to adults, he said.
In the wake of the red shirt riots, Abhisit has launched a campaign for national reconciliation. On the evidence of the fuss surrounding AF Mark’s comments, it has a long way to go.
Watch AF Mark's final performance here.
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