The roar of the 30,000-strong crowd which welcomed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha as he stepped into Buri Ram's Chang Arena on Monday appeared reminiscent of a similar reception afforded Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006.
It is well known that the huge gathering at Buriram United's stadium was arranged by Newin Chidchob, the veteran politician-turned sports impresario.
Soonruth Bunyamanee is deputy editor, Bangkok Post.
Before the arrival of the prime minister, Mr Newin led the crowd in a rehearsal of the "Uncle Tu! Fight, fight!" chant that was to greet Gen Prayut. The politician told the sweltering crowd to wait patiently as the province was about to receive the lion's share of the state budget, at least 10 billion baht, from the cabinet.
The crowd cheered and waved to Gen Prayut, who turned up in traditional costume with several khao ma cloths wrapped around his waist. He was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and other cabinet members.
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Although he did not mention politics in his address, the trip to this northeastern province, which is Mr Newin's stronghold, contained crucial political messages.
Mr Newin would be able to muster significant support for Gen Prayut to return as prime minister after the election next year.
And Gen Prayut seems intent on courting allies in accordance with the motto of the late Chinese strongman Deng Xiaoping: "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white so long as it catches mice."
The big welcome for Gen Prayut echoes a similar greeting that fugitive former prime minister Thaksin received 12 years ago when he, seeking another term in office, was also in need of political support. And then too, pulling the strings was Mr Newin who organised a procession that saw Thaksin riding on an elephant while the veteran politician walked alongside. The crowd gave hearty cheers as they passed.
Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party won a majority of seats in the House of Representatives but the Constitutional Court, in a controversial ruling, nullified the election results, partly as a result of the boycott by the Democrat Party.
Thaksin's caretaker government was subsequently toppled in the Sept 19, 2006 coup staged by then army chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin. Mr Newin then threw his support behind the People Power Party (PPP), the reincarnated Thai Rak Thai in the 2008 poll in which the People's Power Party (PPP) won a majority. That poll triumph put another veteran politician, Samak Sundaravej, at the helm. He was forced to step down by the Constitutional Court which ruled that his role as host of a TV cooking programme constituted a conflict of interest.
Somchai Wongsawat, Thaksin's brother in law, took over from Samak but his tenure was cut short after the PPP was dissolved by the Constitutional Court and all executive members of the party were banned from politics for five years.
After these incidents, the Buri Ram politician decided to break away from Thaksin. Such a decision prompted Thaksin supporters to brand him a "betrayer". However, there was a twist when the politician who jointly formed Bhumjaithai party turned his support towards the rival Democrat party. That party, together with "Friends of Newin" politicians, voted in the House to support Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to become prime minister amid a political crisis.
At the time, there were reports that Thaksin phoned Mr Newin, and was told that: "It's over, boss!"
Needless to say, Thailand's political momentum will change once again if Mr Newin throws his support behind Gen Prayut.
Both Mr Newin and Gen Prayut insisted there was no political agenda in the May 7 visit to Buri Ram but, as I said, the feeling of déjà vu is inescapable.
It is too early to say whether the Bhumjaithai Party will back the regime, with its various political machinations, such as proxy parties and political allies, to form the government and pick Gen Prayut as the prime minister again after the election. But Gen Prayut's Buri Ram visit certainly gave such that impression.
Bhumjaithai party leader Anutin Charnvirakul coyly said he wouldn't comment on the party's post-election strategy until he knew the number of seats he had to play with.
I'm not surprised that the day before the visit, a series of photos of Thaksin with his sister and former PM Yingluck, and various Shinawatra clan members, who were said to be in Singapore, went viral amid reports they had met with several key Pheu Thai politicians.
Thaksin reportedly told the Pheu Thai politicians in confidence that they would win a landslide victory in the 2019 election.
Thaksin and Yingluck have left Singapore and should have arrived back in Dubai now. There is no doubt they saw the warm welcome Mr Newin gave to Gen Prayut during the high-profile visit.
It's not easy to predict how this political game will unfold. But, like in 2008, Mr Newin's support could be a game changer. And you can be sure that Thaksin is well aware of that.