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eaders of the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) held a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, sparking speculation of a possible alliance between the two in the upcoming election.

The meeting was held at Golkar chairman Aburizal Bakrie'€™s office at the Bakrie Tower, Epicentrum complex in South Jakarta.

Aburizal was accompanied by party secretary-general Idrus Marham and treasurer Setya Novanto, while PKS chairman Anis Matta came with secretary-general Taufik Ridho and party executives Fahri Hamzah and Andi Rahmat.

Golkar and the PKS are the largest allies of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono'€™s ruling Democratic Party (PD), which has seen its electability plunge from around 20 percent in 2009 to below 10 percent.

Although specifics of what was discussed were not disclosed, rumors abound the meeting was politically motivated, given the upcoming legislative election in April and presidential election in July.

'€œWe just had lunch together,'€ Aburizal told the press after the two-hour meeting. '€œIndeed we mentioned one or two issues related to a [political] alliance, but in general, we discussed current issues related to the nation.'€

Anis echoed Aburizal'€™s statements. '€œThe meeting was aimed at easing political tension ahead of the election. Political competition should be smooth and not too tense,'€ he said.

Both parties agreed to hold a follow-up meeting. '€œThe next one will probably be held at PKS'€™ headquarters,'€ Aburizal said.

Analysts have suggested that PD'€™s allies in the government coalition '€” namely Golkar, PKS, the United Development Party (PPP), the National Awakening Party (PKB) and the National Mandate Party (PAN) '€” might abandon the foundering ruling party in the upcoming elections.

Currently the biggest opposition party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is now seen as the party to beat in the elections, largely thanks to the popularity of member and Jakarta Governor Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo.

Almost all surveys in 2013 put Jokowi as the most popular potential presidential candidate, even though the PDI-P has been reluctant to nominate him. Other parties have made moves perceived by many as attempts to woo the PDI-P and land a spot as Jokowi'€™s running mate.

Golkar was initially reported to have been mulling the idea of forming an alliance with the PDI-P for the 2014 presidential race, a move analysts say would be a game changer though unlikely to happen.

Surveys have shown that Aburizal'€™s popularity as a presidential candidate has been gradually increasing, thanks to an advertising blitz on the media outlets partly controlled by the Bakrie family.

This, analysts said, could make Golkar more attractive to other parties, including PKS, which has been ravaged by the beef graft case implicating its former chairman, Luthfi Hasan Ishaaq.

It is possible that Golkar is now exploring the possibility of forming an alliance with smaller parties, according to Arya Fernandes, a political analyst with Charta Politika. '€œWe have seen that the popularity ratings of both Golkar and the PDI-P are very close. Naturally, it would be difficult for two parties with a similar degree of electoral power to form a coalition. A strong party usually accepts smaller parties in an alliance to maintain its control,'€ he said.

No PKS figure, according to surveys, ranks in the top five among potential presidential candidates, including party favorite senior lawmaker Hidayat Nur Wahid.

In the past few years, Golkar, PKS and PDI-P have often allied in the House of Representatives to challenge Yudhoyono'€™s policies, such as the government'€™s decision to bail out then-ailing Bank Century in 2008, and work on rampant graft cases in the taxation sector.

Arya suggested that Golkar and PKS'€™ experience working together in the House could have provided a foundation to form a '€œreal'€ coalition in the future.