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Thai political tension mounts

• Thailand's PM dissolves government

• Thai PM son faulted on Shin deal

• Court rejects bid to try Thaksin

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BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Tensions between Thailand's Prime Minister and his opponents are growing despite Thaksin Shinawatra's decision to dissolve Parliament and call new elections on April 2, three years ahead of schedule.

In his weekly radio address Saturday, the prime minister announced a series of populist measures aimed at boosting his flagging popularity.

They included promises of more money for farmers, introduction of a minimum wage for urban workers, and pay hikes for civil servants.

Thaksin's opponents denounced the moves as electioneering and promised to go ahead with a huge rally on Sunday to demand that he step down.

Although Thaksin won a landslide election victory barely a year ago, his popularity, especially in urban areas, has plummeted amid allegations of corruption, cronyism and intimidation of the media.

Public anger rose sharply earlier this year after his family made a $1.9 billion profit from the sale of the family communications company to a Singaporean government investment fund, yet managed to avoid paying taxes.

Critics say Thaksin is morally unfit to govern and have pledged to step up their protests, which the prime minister has described as the "opinions of the mob."

Political analysts, and even some opposition figures, acknowledge that Thaksin's electoral gambit is likely to succeed because he remains popular in the rural areas, home to two-thirds of Thailand's residents.

But if the election was intended to take the steam out of the protests, analysts say it could have the opposite effect, raising the prospect of more political tension and instability in the weeks ahead.

Senior Asia Correspondent Mike Chinoy contributed to this report.

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