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Ganjar’s popularity presents dilemma for PDI-P's presidential nomination
Ganjar had declined to comment on Nurdin’s statement, saying on Sunday that matters related to the 2024 election were within the authority of PDI-P chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri.
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Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo disembarks from one of the double-decker buses set to be exported by CV Laksana to Bangladesh. The governor took part in a ceremony to mark the delivery of the buses at the company’s factory in Semarang, Central Java, on Feb. 22, 2020. (Antara/Ant)
T
he high popularity of Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, coupled with internal power struggles within the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggles (PDI-P), has given rise to speculation about whether he would toe the party line or jump ship to join another party to realize his political ambition.
Golkar Party deputy chairman Nurdin Halid rose eyebrows last week when he said Golkar would welcome Ganjar, a PDI-P politician and touted as one of the frontrunners in the 2024 Presidential election, if PDI-P could not give him the political platform to vie for the country's highest post.
“If Ganjar does not have a place in his own party, Golkar is open [for him],” said Nurdin during a discussion in Jakarta on Nov. 11.
Nurdin later clarified that his remark was not Golkar's official stance on the matter and added that if Ganjar wanted to join Golkar for the 2024 election, he would be doing so as a vice presidential candidate, considering that the party had already decided to back its chairman, Airlangga Hartarto.
“Ganjar would run as vice [president] for pak Airlangga because pak Airlangga cannot run [for president] on his own,” said Nurdin as quoted by tempo.co on Nov. 14.
PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto has slammed Nurdin’s statement, saying that it “showed his [Nurdin’s] desperation,” kompas.com reported.
Ganjar, Hasto claimed, had been approached multiple times by Golkar but he appeared uninterested in the offer.
