What a difference two years has made for the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). In February 2012 the party, which sports the black bull as its logo, was still mulling whether its chief and the country'€™s fifth president Megawati Soekarnoputri should run again for president.

Meanwhile one of its leading members, then Surakarta mayor, Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo, was on his way from his home city to Jakarta to promote the Esemka, a 1,500-cc SUV assembled by Surakarta vocational high school students and which he was promoting as a good bargain.

His brief stop in the capital turned out to be a start of a long journey. Interested in his squeaky-clean record and his struggle on behalf of Surakarta citizens, PDI-P elites encouraged him to enter the jaded Jakarta election in which then governor Fauzi Bowo did not face a strong challenge.

The rest is history. Jokowi'€™s popularity has skyrocketed ever since and upset all political calculations such that the party decided to name him its presidential candidate, a breakthrough after having named Megawati in two previous elections.

As a local politician, many still doubt his capability to lead the country. As a party member, Jokowi'€™s independence is in question as the assumption is that he will always submit to the party'€™s decisions, as in the decision to run in this year'€™s election. Win or lose, Jokowi may not be the perfect fit for a president. But one thing is for sure, he is evidence that democracy can give birth to new leaders and his candidacy has turned the election into something akin to an avidly followed TV popularity contest.

The Jakarta Post was invited to join the party'€™s campaign events to sample the excitement.

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