Former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan has portrayed himself as the anti-establishment candidate in the presidential campaign, climbing to second place in polls on the back of a message that includes opposing a costly capital move to East Kalimantan.

The former education and culture minister is now the dark horse candidate expected to face frontrunner and Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto in any potential second-round runoff vote.

He had been floundering in last place but in recent weeks his opposition to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo's legacy move to shift the country's political center away from Jakarta has helped his campaign come alive.

A former lecturer, the 54-year-old has been viewed as outclassing his rivals in the presidential debates and praised for offering an alternative, with rights groups complaining of democratic gains being rolled back under Jokowi.

In an interview with AFP in December, Anies said if elected he would govern from Jakarta instead of the planned capital Nusantara, set to open in August.

"Is it ready? The readiest infrastructure is here," he said, referring to the current capital.

He has also pledged to strengthen the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to root out graft.

Anies was a minister under Jokowi before becoming Jakarta governor in 2017.

But on the campaign trail he has attacked Jokowi's administration on freedom of speech and nepotism, pressuring Prabowo, who chose Jokowi's eldest son as his running mate.

His agenda of change has caught on with conservative Islamic factions in the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.

Read also: Candidate profile: Anies Baswedan'Narrative of change'

With his two main rivals either running in the President's party or serving in his government, Anies has occupied the position of top government critic.

The strategy appears to be taking him closer to a second-round clash after overtaking former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo in the polls.

"Ganjar is trending downward, Anies is trending upward," said Djayadi Hanan, executive director of independent pollster Lembaga Survei Indonesia.

"Anies runs with the grand narrative of change. Ganjar is unclear."

Anies was born in West Java and later studied in Japan and the United States, obtaining a doctorate in political science.

The father-of-four studied in Yogyakarta and became a rector of a Jakarta university in 2007.

He himself moderated the presidential debates in 2009 but now finds himself at the center of them.

Read also: Online campaign offers chance for Anies, Ganjar alliance in runoff voteJokowi rival

Anies entered politics in 2013 and became the campaign spokesperson for Jokowi a year later.

He was rewarded with a ministerial position after his boss' win, but left office after less than two years, with Jokowi giving no reason for his removal.

During his campaign for Jakarta governor, Anies was accused of stoking religious divides and courting the Islamic vote against the Christian incumbent, Basuki Tjahaja “Ahok” Purnama, an ally of Jokowi.

Anies was a popular governor of Jakarta, more than doubling public transportation coverage across the city in his five-year term.

But his tenure was marked by efforts to undermine the legacy of his predecessor, including by discontinuing his flagship program of regular river dredging to stem floods.

Now, Anies will seek to replace his former boss despite all the signs pointing to Prabowo, aiming for an upset in the world's third-biggest democracy.

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