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Supporters go political as potential 2024 rivals meet on haj
While potential contestants and fellow rivals in next year's elections brushed convivial shoulders as pilgrims in Mecca, their supporters at home made political jabs on social media, regardless of the holy occasion.
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Muslim pilgrims gather on June 27, 2023 on the Mount of Mercy in the plain of Arafat, located outside the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as a misting tower sprays water amid high temperatures during the annual haj. (Reuters/Mohamed Abd El Ghany)
Friendly exchanges between presumptive nominees during the haj in Saudi Arabia have offered a message of unity ahead of next year’s elections, but their supporters at home have taken to social media to throw jibes at rival figures.
As this year’s haj season is the last before the simultaneous presidential and legislative elections on Feb. 14, 2024, prospective candidates and other politicians have made the pilgrimage to Mecca, resulting in a string of unexpected and rare encounters between potential rivals.
Ganjar Pranowo of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and opposition figure Anies Baswedan, a potential running mate, bumped into each other during lunch last week while they were on haj with their families.
The two presumptive nominees were captured in a photograph that also includes United Development Party (PPP) politician Monoarfa, which was widely circulated on social media.
Suharso said he saw Ganjar and Anies conversing warmly before he approached them and asked whether they could all take a photograph, together with their families.
Another surprising encounter occurred between Ganjar and two of his potential running mates, including Nasaruddin Umar, the grand imam of Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque. A photo posted on Instagram by cleric Yusuf Mansur shows Nasaruddin next to Ganjar, seated at a table with Anies, during a luncheon hosted by Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).
Read also: Rivals Ganjar, Anies 'reunite' on haj as parties scramble over VP discussions
