"I understand that the people of Surakarta and the areas surrounding it have given me much support, both moral and material, and it proved that the people still love me even though I am no longer the Surakarta mayor," he said during his Idul Fitri open house at the Graha Sabang building in Sumber, Surakarta, according to kompas.com.

Jokowi expressed his appreciation for his landslide win in the region. In Surakarta, the Jokowi-Kalla ticket garnered 84.36 percent of the vote.

"When I moved to Jakarta to become the governor, there were many that considered it an issue. However, I quickly discovered that I still had many supporters out there when I became a presidential candidate," he said.

Thousands of Surakarta residents arrived at the building to shake hands with the former Surakarta mayor. Although the open house did not officially start until 10 a.m., people started lining up from 8 a.m. to make sure they got a chance to meet the future president.

"It is a great opportunity to shake hands with him while he's in Surakarta. When he moves to Jakarta, it will be difficult to meet him," one of the visitors who came early, Parjinem, said. (fss)

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