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NasDem aims to supplant PDI-P in 2024
Amid speculation about Paloh’s maneuverings, the party said it would devise its strategy for 2024 in the upcoming congress and that it was aiming to take over the PDI-P’s role as the nation’s largest party.
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Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan (left) and NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh speak to reporters at the NasDem headquarters in Central Jakarta in this file photo. (kompas.com/Ryana Aryadita Umasugi)
T
he NasDem Party, currently the nation’s fourth-largest party, will hold its second national congress in Jakarta over the weekend, but most of the attention will be on the figure it has chosen to open it: Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.
The party has claimed that there is nothing political about inviting Anies to its congress, but given the party’s maneuverings after the April legislative and presidential elections, speculation is rife that party leader Surya Paloh—a veteran politician with a strong media network—is preparing a grand strategy for 2024, with the Jakarta governor as one of its potential presidential candidates.
Paloh, analysts say, is toying with the idea of building a new political axis with the opposition parties to take on the nation’s two biggest parties: the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Gerindra Party.
The prospect of a political alliance between the PDI-P and Gerindra has loomed large following a series of meetings between leaders of the two parties, Megawati Soekarnoputri and Prabowo Subianto, who now serves as defense minister in the new Cabinet of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, a PDI-P member.
It appears that for the NasDems and its leader, the 2024 elections are not too far ahead.
In recent weeks, the media mogul has embarked on a “political tour”, holding an orchestrated meeting with leaders of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) during which Paloh highlighted the importance of ensuring checks and balances in the government, even though three NasDem members are in Jokowi’s Cabinet.
Anies Baswedan (left) and NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh speak to reporters at the NasDem headquarters in Central Jakarta in this file photo. ">
