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Kavi Chongkittavorn, a columnist and editor at The Nation, an English-language newspaper, said that despite the numbers in the streets, Mr. Thaksin’s challenge was fading in strength.

Mr. Thaksin, a former telecommunications billionaire, was convicted last year on charges asserting he had abused his power. He left the country before his conviction — he was sentenced to two years in jail — and now lives in exile, principally in Dubai.Mr. Thaksin faces other charges in Thailand, and the courts have frozen an estimated $2 billion in his and his family’s assets. But he insists that he wants to return to Thailand — and to Thai politics.

The protests were reminiscent of the political paralysis that gripped Thailand last year. Those demonstrations, which were sometimes violent, forced the previous government to abandon Government House, paralyzed the workings of the administration and eventually shut down Bangkok’s two major airports. The protests were led by the “yellow shirts” of the People’s Alliance for Democracy.

The protests ended in December when — with the airports blockaded, tourism crippled and the economy at a virtual standstill — the Constitutional Court found the governing party guilty of election fraud. The court ruling led eventually to Mr. Abhisit’s selection as prime minister by Parliament in December.

The dismal state of the Thai economy has been another cause of anger among protesters. Just this week the World Bank revised its growth prospects downward: The bank now expects a 2.7 percent decline in Thailand’s gross domestic product in 2009, the country’s first contraction in more than a decade.

Mr Vejjajiva said a state of emergency imposed on Sunday in Bangkok would remain in place.

Red-shirted supporters of Mr Thaksin, who is now in self-imposed exile in Dubai, have held protests in recent weeks. The largely peaceful demonstrations that paralysed parts of Bangkok turned violent earlier this week; two people died and more than 100 others were injured. Protest leaders called off the action amid a major military crackdown to quell the riots.

The red shirts took to the streets demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit step down, and fresh elections to be held. They say that he was illegally installed by parliament in December after courts ousted the government led by Mr Thaksin's allies, and dissolved their parties.

The red shirts have expressed anger over the detention of several protest leaders in recent days, while Mr Sondhi and his allies were never prosecuted for their political action. Last year, the yellow shirts occupied Government House for three months and seized Bangkok's two airports for a week, stranding hundreds of thousands of travellers.

Protesters headed to the home of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's top adviser, Prem Tinsulanonda, whom they accuse of masterminding the coup. They are also demanding Prem's resignation and have accused the military, judiciary and Prem's inner circle of interfering in politics.

Prem has denied the accusations that he orchestrated the coup, but the rare public criticism of a king's privy counsellor broke a taboo in Thailand, where members of the monarchy and their aides are highly revered. Prem had been indirectly accused of orchestrating the coup before

Most of Thaksin's supporters are from the country's poor rural majority, who benefited from his populist policies. They are known as "the red shirts," for their favoured attire.

Monday is the start of a three-day holiday for the Thai New Year and many people have already left the capital for the provinces.

Last year, the government imposed a state of emergency on several occasions but the army refused to enact the measures. That crisis eventually led to Mr Abhisit's government taking over from allies of Mr Thaksin. The problem for Mr Abhisit is that he came to power in December on the back of protests that were just as illegal, our correspondent says. He may look hypocritical if he only goes after the red-shirted protesters who embarrassed him.