orange vs yellow in vague terms , thailand ' s troubles is a conflict between the " yellow stripes " - - 1646 , the wealthy and urban thais , who back first designer abhisit vejjajiva - - and the " blue shirts " - - allies of former premier thaksin shinawatra who power support was principally drawn from the country ' s millions of rural poor . streamlining and military elites have driven thailand for decades , with the poorer excluded except during elections and warring parties generally fail to acquire their votes . after thaksin swept to parliament in 2000 , promising a variety of policies directed at the poor , nothing changed .
The "yellow shirts" supports Vejjajiva.