Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil recently paid visits to several places outside Java and met with prominent members of political parties in what many have called a “political safari”.
ell-known governors among the top presidential hopefuls have embarked on what seems to be a scramble for popularity outside their regions months before leaving public office this year, a situation that could put them at a disadvantage ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Over the course of the past month, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil have paid visits to several places outside Java and met with prominent members of political parties in what many have called a “political safari”.
Anies, whose gubernatorial term ends in October, attended a wedding event of the son of Golkar Party deputy chairman Nurdin Halid on Jan. 22. The meeting took place a day after Anies held a dialogue with one of his groups of supporters, the Relawan Jaringan Mileanis in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
While he contended that he had yet to declare his candidacy as he wanted to focus on fulfilling his duties as Jakarta governor during the dialogue, Anies expressed his appreciation to the group for endorsing him as a presidential candidate.
Anies, who still has no political party, is on the list of potential nominees for the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and grows closer to NasDem.
Read also: Supporters kick-start early campaigns for presumptive 2024 candidates
Another contender is Ganjar, who paid a visit to Pesawaran in Lampung, on Jan. 21, where he was welcomed by hundreds of enthusiastic locals who waited hours for his arrival in a museum. Ganjar, the most popular hopeful of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), claimed that his trip was a return visit after Pesawaran Regent Dendi Ramadhona came to Semarang November last year.
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