Talk of rocky rapport between the two politicians reemerged last week after Megawati skipped a national Pancasila Day event hosted by Jokowi – held to celebrate the ideology that her father Sukarno instilled in the national conscience.

The chatter was briefly dampened after a short video was circulated to the press on Tuesday of the two talking at the State Palace, where Megawati was being reinstated as the head of the Pancasila Ideology Education Agency (BPIP) steering committee.

After the meeting, PDI-P secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto dismissed speculation about an internal conflict.

But the President seemed to suggest that things were not so rosy as the two figures met again on Wednesday for the inauguration of At-Taufiq Mosque at the PDI-P’s South Jakarta headquarters. Jokowi was leading the ceremony to commemorate Megawati’s late husband Taufiq Kiemas, who passed away nine years ago.

The President opened his speech by reiterating his utmost respect for the PDI-P chairwoman, whom he considered “like my own mother”. But he also acknowledged that disagreements could arise even in close families.

“If, along the way, there are differences between mother and son, that’s normal,” Jokowi said.

The President later brushed off questions from reporters about the remarks.

“Such an odd question,” he said, as quoted by Kompas, in response to a journalist asking if he and Megawati might back different candidates in the next election.

“It is par for the course in extended families that along the way, there are children who act out or are naughty. I say it is common sense, so don’t read into it so much.”

Jokowi laughed off another question asking if he considered himself a naughty child.

Meanwhile, Megawati said her ties with the President were “very amiable” and that rumors of a rift were overstated.

Jokowi’s links to the PDI-P go back to his bid for the Surakarta mayorship in 2005. The party also backed him when he ran in the Jakarta gubernatorial race in 2012 and again in his bid for the presidency. However, as time passed, there were moments where Jokowi and the PDI-P’s opinions diverged.

Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) political researcher Arya Fernandes said the two figures still needed each other’s support to advance their respective goals.

With more than 20 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives, the PDI-P is crucial to Jokowi’s legislative agenda and the continuation of his policies, Arya said. On the flip side, the party needed Jokowi’s backing as most of its voters were staunch Jokowi supporters.

“There might be differences, but I’m sure they’d want to ensure the relationship remains harmonious,” Arya said in an online discussion on Wednesday.

The Ganjar gamble

In recent days, Jokowi has appeared to place his personal aspirations for the 2024 general elections above those of the party.

Pundits point to the President’s implicit support for Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, even though the social media darling is likely not the PDI-P’s first choice for its presidential ticket.

In May, Jokowi attended a rally in Central Java organized by his volunteer group Projo, which has supported him since before his first presidential bid.

During the rally, which Ganjar also attended, the President told his loyalists not to rush to throw their support behind potential candidates for the 2024 elections, even if the likely candidate was “already here” at the event.

Bawono Kumoro, political researcher at pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia, said Jokowi likely believed that Ganjar would be willing to see his unfinished projects to completion as his successor.

“For Jokowi, if projects like the new capital are not continued, that would be a stain on his legacy. This is why he is eager to have the next president share his vision,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Ganjar was also among the most popular potential candidates, Bawono added.

According to public opinion polls by Poltracking Institute and Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting released on Thursday, Ganjar remains ahead of Gerindra’s Prabowo Subianto in terms of electability.

Party foul?

Despite his popularity, there is no guarantee that Ganjar will run on his party’s ticket. Several PDI-P members have called the Central Java governor kemlinthi (Javanese for arrogant) for not toeing the party line and have accused him of strategically building a supporter base on social media to pursue his own political interests.

Megawati, meanwhile, has yet to name her preferred candidate but looks poised to nominate her daughter, House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani, over Ganjar.

Puan’s electability ratings lag far behind the governor’s. In the Poltracking public opinion survey, she recorded an electability rating of just 0.9 percent, compared to Ganjar’s 24.8 percent.

Neither Puan nor Megawati attended the wedding of Jokowi’s younger sister Idayati to Constitutional Court justice Anwar Usman last month. There were also suggestions that Megawati had refused to join the June 1 event that Jokowi hosted, although the PDI-P denies it.

Political analyst Adi Prayitno said Jokowi must now proceed with caution.

“It would be too risky for him to openly overstep Megawati [by endorsing Ganjar], which would incite conflict within PDI-P. It’s also risky for Ganjar, whose supporter base is also from the PDI-P,” he told the Post on Tuesday.

— Yerica Lai contributed to this article.

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