BANGKOK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Passersby stopped Thailand's former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva every now and again to ask for selfies as the salt-and-pepper-haired leader walked through a bustling market in Bangkok, campaigning for general elections on February 8.
"Good to see you again, still handsome just like before," said one noodle vendor, ?reflecting voters' persisting warm feelings for the Oxford-trained economist, who is making an unexpected comeback to frontline politics.
Abhisit's return has fuelled a revival of his Democrat Party, reshaping an electoral contest that formerly looked like a three-way tussle among the ruling Bhumjaithai Party, the progressive People's Party and the populist Pheu Thai Party.
"I just want to offer a choice and revive the party," Abhisit, 61, told Reuters, as he strolled down a major road in the capital, greeting office workers on lunch breaks.
"Every time I meet people, they are frustrated with the lack of choice."
BEFORE SLIDE, DEMOCRATS DOMINATED THE SOUTH, BANGKOK
Government employee Yuttapum Rattanamanee, a voter in the northeast, said he was one of four in his family backing the Democrats again because Abhisit came back to lead the party.
"When Abhisit left, the party lost its power because people no longer trusted the leadership," the 37-year-old added. "Abhisit is capable, competent and honest."
Thailand's oldest political party, the Democrats had long dominated the south and ?Bangkok, before sliding into decline after a military coup in 2014.
Despite the goodwill, Abhisit is unlikely to get enough support to become prime minister, a survey showed last week.
