A long-time PDI-P member, Effendi raised eyebrows after he invited Defense Minister Prabowo on Friday to an internal event of the Punguan Simbolon Dohot Boruna Indonesia (PSBI), an organization he chairs that groups together members of the Batak clan, Simbolon. During the event, some participants appeared to be rooting for Gerindra’s presumptive nominee to become the country’s next president.

In response to questions from the media on whether Effendi had crossed the party line, PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said the party’s ethics council would be summoning the 58-year-old politician for clarification.

“We will be seeking clarification first, and then the ethics council, as stated in the party’s internal rules, will recommend that the central board make a conclusion,” Hasto said on Saturday.

If Effendi was found to have violated the party’s statutes, it would take disciplinary action against him, he added.

Prior to the controversial event, PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri had instructed all members of the party to fully back Ganjar's 2024 presidential bid, while Hasto said the party’s ethics council would look into any member who strayed from the party line.

The PDI-P publicly named the Central Java governor as its presidential candidate in April, ending months of infighting over a tacit competition between Ganjar and Puan Maharani, the House of Representatives Speaker and chair of the party’s central board.

Megawati was reportedly struggling with whether to choose an outsider to help the ruling party win the 2024 elections, like she did with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in 2014, or to tout her daughter and political heir, Puan, to maintain the Sukarno dynasty’s stranglehold on the party.

In an effort to consolidate the party, Puan and Ganjar presented a show of unity at the PDI-P’s national rally held last month at the peak of the “Month of Bung [brother] Karno” to celebrate the country’s founding father, who was born on June 6, 1901. During the culminating event, the two politicians shared center stage while Puan called on all members of the party to rally behind Ganjar in 2024.

Held almost exactly a month later, Friday’s PSBI event has prompted fresh questions over whether the party is able to unite its rank and file to help Ganjar win the presidential race, even as the governor struggles to reclaim his lead in the electability polls against Prabowo.

Before the party announced Ganjar’s nomination, Effendi had been candid about his preference for Puan, saying that her lineage and accomplishments as the country’s first female House speaker made her worthy of leading the country.

In his opening remarks at Friday’s event, Prabowo expressed his surprise at receiving an invitation from the PSBI two days earlier and said that he had decided to show up, despite the short notice.

This prompted cheers from the audience, with some participants chanting “Prabowo for president!”

Speaking to reporters after the event, Effendi said he had invited Prabowo to the event in his capacity as defense minister, stressing that the PSBI and its events were “apolitical”.

Effendi did not shy away from responding when asked about his views on Prabowo’s potential 2024 bid, however, saying: “I personally hope that Indonesia will be led by a leader who possesses competence. Honestly and objectively, I see that [leader] in Prabowo.”