Roadside posters featuring Prabowo and Jokowi with the slogan “win together for a great Indonesia" have popped up in recent weeks on some streets in Pati, Brebes and Surakarta in Central Java, the long-time stronghold of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and party member Jokowi.

Gerindra’s Pati office chairman Hardi has claimed that the billboard installation was under the instruction of his superior at the party’s Central Java office, which the latter denied, with secretary Sriyanto Saputro claiming it was Pati office’s initiative, according to reports by Detik.com.

The billboards came on the heel of speculations that President Jokowi was hesitant to throw his full support behind Ganjar after he felt blindsided when the governor signed a “political contract” with Megawati to allow her to decide his running mate and the composition of his Cabinet without consulting with the President, allegations that both the PDI-P and Ganjar have denied.

Despite having attended numerous rallies for Ganjar, Jokowi, whom the PDI-P have often regarded as a “mere party officer”, has recently intensified his meetings with Prabowo, who holds control over his own party Gerindra. Jokowi and Prabowo met at least three times last month at the invitation of the former, including at a Sunday lunch at Bogor Palace, prompting analysts to speculate that the President was politically leaning toward his former rival in the 2019 presidential election.

Gerindra deputy chairman Habiburokhman has openly described Jokowi’s gesture as a “show of support” for Prabowo, claiming that Jokowi’s past remarks that his successor would have to be courageous and not be influenced by the elite were meant for Prabowo.

Read also: Jokowi-Prabowo meetings put Ganjar’s chances into question

Gerindra appears to be riding the momentum of Jokowi and Prabowo’s meetings, with its member Fauzi Baadilla led an entourage of Prabowo’s supporters to visit two of Jokowi’s most prominent groups of supporters that have backed him since 2014 presidential elections, ProJo and Bara JP, at their headquarters on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Speaking after their meeting on Thursday, ProJo chairman Budi Arie Setiadi stressed that the group would wait for Jokowi’s direction in October before mobilizing thousands of its members. But Budi also hinted that ProJo might back Prabowo as it shared many “similarities” with their guests that day.

“We already share the same concerns of the future [and the same] perspective of how to tackle future challenges, how come we don’t share the same [aspiration over presidential candidate]?” Budi said.

ProJo, the backbone of which comes mostly from former PDI-P members’ dissatisfaction with the leadership of party chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, took what analysts see as a swipe at the ruling party, when the group praised Gerindra for not using a rigid “dichotomy between political parties and non-parties” when working with supporter groups.

The intentional campaign portraying Prabowo as a close ally of Jokowi and his supporters indicates Gerindra’s intention to milk Jokowi's ambiguous stance, analyst Ahmad Khoirul Umam told The Jakarta Post.

“[Jokowi’s ambiguity] is put to good use by Prabowo to boost his electability by consolidating both his and Jokowi’s loyal supporters since the 2014 election that used to collide with each other,” Umam said.

Jokowi's silence despite Prabowo’s move potentially threatening PDI-P’s interests to bag its third consecutive win with Ganjar's nomination could be interpreted as "a gesture of omission", Umam added. “Like it or not, Prabowo's move can effectively erode Ganjar and the PDI-P supporters base.”

Read also: Mudslinging begins between Ganjar, Prabowo supporters

PDI-P members have pushed back against the narrative of Jokowi backing Prabowo, saying it was “untrue” and that Jokowi himself has given them specific directions to help Ganjar win the 2024 race.

Commenting on last week's meeting between Jokowi’s and Prabowo’s supporters, PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto fired back at ProJo and Bara JP. He accused their support as “fluctuating, ever-changing” and “artificial” following their past refusal to welcome Prabowo in Jokowi’s Cabinet in 2019.

“[The groups of Jokowi's supporters] that are now behind Ganjar are authentic and essential, their support is consistent and would not experience ups and downs,” Hasto said on Saturday.