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Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban collected donations from supporters as he led a protest march through the streets of Bangkok on Thursday. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
BANGKOK—Thai protesters are tired of vote-buying and other forms of influence peddling in elections here. Now, many of them are handing over large amounts of cash to a firebrand provocateur who aims to do away with next month's ballot entirely.
Tens of thousands of people clamored to press wads of Thai baht into Suthep Thaugsuban's hands Thursday as he led a fundraising march through the traffic-clogged streets of Bangkok while his aides stuffed the bank notes into plastic garbage bags.
The ostensible goal was to publicize Mr. Suthep's bid to shut down the center of the city next week and force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to scrap elections set for Feb. 2. But the donations, which over the past few weeks have reached over $1.5 million, according to a spokesman for Mr. Suthep, are vital to keeping the protests going—and they could accelerate a confrontation between the protesters in Mr. Suthep's camp and the millions of poorer, mostly rural Thais who support his rivals in the populist Shinawatra clan.
Mr. Suthep, a burly former deputy prime minister, argues that Thailand needs to suspend its democracy and put in place an unelected council to root out the influence of its former leader, Ms. Yingluck's elder brother, Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr. Thaksin was deposed in a military coup over seven years ago, but Mr. Suthep and many other Thais believe he is still secretly running the country from overseas.
In Thailand, complaints of vote-buying are loud and frequent, making the sight of ordinary people thrusting bundles of cash into a politician's outstretched hands all the more dramatic.
"Mr. Suthep needs the money to keep the protest movement going. He's doing this for us," said Nattanan Thongchil, 50 years old, who waited patiently under the beating sun to hand the protest leader 1,040 baht, or about $30.
In a recent interview, Mr. Suthep said that populist, easy-money policies such as tax rebates and multibillion-dollar subsidies enabled the Shinawatras to dominate the country's parliament and push policies designed to further their own private and business interests.
"They bought this country by making irresponsible promises," he said.
Thai courts, meanwhile, removed a pro-Thaksin government in 2008 for vote-buying.
Ms. Yingluck counters that her government's economic policy is designed to boost consumer spending in rural areas. On Thursday, Ms. Yingluck urged antigovernment protesters to consider the economic impact of her rivals' monthslong protests on the city, which already has seen tourists cancel bookings in what is usually one of busiest times of the year, and put pressure on the broader economy, too.
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Antigovernment protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban was photographed with a supporter during a warm-up rally to paralyze the capital on Thursday in Bangkok.Wason Wanichakorn/Associated Press
The two sides appear headed for a showdown, stirring speculation that army chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha's armed forces may intervene, as they did in 2006 to remove Mr. Thaksin. Gen. Prayuth, while trying to keep out of the latest battle, hasn't ruled out another coup. The growing unease in the capital is compounded by persistent worries over the health of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, now 86 years old, and who has also stepped in to address political conflicts in the past.
"The government doesn't have a lot of options to deal with the protesters," said Yuttaporn Issarachai, a political-science professor at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University. "Using force will only cost the government its legitimacy to run the country…But the government also has to be careful that it doesn't end up running a failed state, where protesters can do anything they want and rule of law is completely meaningless."
Running a marathon Thai-style rally can be an expensive business. Renting stages and public address systems costs money, and then there is the cost of food and drinks to keep the protesters fed and hydrated for weeks. Some supporters provide support in kind, delivering crates of bottled water and sacks of rice to their main camp near Bangkok's Democracy Monument.
There are also welfare funds to support security guards and other volunteers. "It all adds up," says Akanat Promphan, Mr. Suthep's stepson and a former legislator. "We're drawing in lots of donations, so hopefully we can keep going even if there are a few shortages here and there."
Many of the people digging into their pockets say they felt they had to step forward to support Mr. Suthep's campaign and check the influence of the Shinawatra clan, which has dominated Thai politics since Mr. Thaksin first became prime minister in 2001. On a good day, Mr. Suthep can pull in two million baht, or $60,000, during his traffic-stopping parades through Bangkok.
The biggest single amount offered came from the owner of a pharmaceutical business, Pichaet Wiriyachitra. He donated a million baht last month after Thai authorities froze the bank accounts of Mr. Suthep and his organization—and he now says he hopes that many more will follow.
"People want to help, but they don't always reveal themselves. I felt I had to step forward and show what we can do, and that we don't need to be afraid," Mr. Pichaet said.
—Wilawan Watcharasakwet and Warangkana Chomchuen contributed to this article.
Write to James Hookway at james.hookway@wsj.com