Ayodhya, Mar 3 (IANS): A day after social media went into a spin over the change of colour in an official signboard in Ayodhya from saffron to green by the district magistrate, the colour was again changed on Thursday -- this time to red.

A huge controversy had erupted on Wednesday over the change in colour and many people saw it as symbolic of change in the government.

"Red is not the colour of any party, so it is safer," said a junior official in Ayodhya and added that there was no intention to give a political angle to the change in colour.

The District Magistrate of Ayodhya, Nitish Kumar, on Wednesday changed the signboard outside his residence from orange to green.

Orange or saffron is the official colour of the BJP, while green is the colour that signifies the Samajwadi Party.

As photographs of the orange signboard being brought down and the green one going up went viral on social media, ripples of speculation were palpable in the bureaucratic circles.

"Signages are always changed to suit the colour of the party in power. During Mayawati's regime, all signages were blue, while in the SP regime, they turned green before turning saffron under the BJP's rule.

"However, in this case, it can be considered a blunder because a change of government is yet to take place," said a retired IAS officer, who had served in top positions in the BSP and SP regimes.

Social media, meanwhile, has been filled with jokes and memes on the change in colour of the signage with many political soothsayers predicting the poll outcome on this basis.

The District Magistrate of Ayodhya, however, was unavailable for comments.