It would have seemed innocuous and gone unnoticed had it not been for the ongoing polls in Uttar Pradesh.
The change of colour of the signboard before the camp office-cum-residence of the district magistrate of Ayodhya set the tongues wagging in the political and bureaucratic circles in the state with many associating it as a possible change in the government.
The colour of the signboard indicating the district magistrate's camp office, which was situated at the PWD Bungalow in the town, was saffron. On Wednesday it was painted green.
A sudden change of colour at a time when the sixth and seventh phase of polling were yet to be held caught the attention of the politicians as well as the common people many of whom said that the bureaucrats were expert weather scientists and they might have realised which way the electoral wind was blowing in the state.
According to the sources, the colour of the signboard was changed again but saffron was still missing. The new colour of the signboard was red.
The district officials said that the colour of the signboards at government offices were usually green. After the BJP came to power in the state, many officials had got their offices and signboards painted in saffron. It was in this context the change of colour to green and then to red set the tongues wagging.
''It proves that the bureaucrats think that the government is going to change after the polls and so they are discarding the saffron colour,'' remarked a local Samajwadi Party (SP) leader in Ayodhya.
The sixth phase of the polling for 57 seats of Poorvanchal was held on Thursday while the seventh and last phase of polling for 54 seats in the region would be held on Monday. Counting of votes would be taken up on March 10.
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