Once a critic of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, she joined the UDD, a political pressure group close to Thaksin, campaigning against the influence of the military and "royalist circles" following the 2006 coup d'état, against perceived injustice, and for a fundamental change of power structures in the Thai society. After the fierce "Red Shirts" protests from March to May 2010, which ultimately led to the bloody military crackdowns in April and May and the arrests of the most important UDD leaders including her husband, Thida became chairwoman of the "United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship" that December. Thida is considered a moderate, generally rejecting violence in favour of political action.