Many speculated that choosing his vice presidential candidate would be at the top of Anies’ priority agenda, once he returned to Indonesia last week from the haj to Saudi Arabia. Pressure has also been mounting on him to name his running mate amid a recent slump in his electability.

But the former Jakarta governor stayed silent on the matter during the NasDem rally on Sunday at the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex, instead doubling down on his promise to bring change to the country if he were elected next year.

“We are gathering here to reaffirm our commitment, NasDem’s commitment, to the movement for change," Anies told an audience of some 250,000 NasDem members, which erupted into applause.

"Now it’s time to go out there, reach out to the public and invite them to our movement," he said.

Several media reported that thousands of Anies supporters also attended the rally, which was decorated with numerous banners featuring Anies and NasDem head Surya Paloh and the tag line, “It’s time for Indonesia’s restoration”.

In his speech, Surya did not hesitate to call out President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration, despite being the head of pro-government NasDem.

“We have become a nation full of pretense and hypocrisy. That is the Indonesia of today. This is why we need a movement for change,” he said.

Surya’s relationship with the President began to sour last year after NasDem declared its support for Anies, often seen as the antithesis to Jokowi, and rumors of a Cabinet reshuffle to oust NasDem ministers from the Cabinet have been rife ever since.

Democratic Party chairman Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono and Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) president Ahmad Syaikhu, the leaders of the two other parties in the opposition-leaning Coalition of Change for Unity (KPP) backing Anies, also attended the NasDem rally on Sunday.

Agus said the rally was proof that the electoral alliance remained united.

“[KPP members] will continue to build mutual trust and support for one another because we know that to bring about the changes that we have long desired, there will be a lot of tests and challenges,” Agus said before the event, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Anies’ VP shortlist

But the three KPP members have not agreed on a single name to run alongside Anies, so they have settled on allowing Anies to select his own running mate from a vetted list of potential candidates.

Democrat chair Agus is thought to be high on this shortlist.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Agus said that Anies shared his party’s view that declaring a vice presidential candidate was urgent.

He also hinted that Anies’ pick would not be “a surprise”, nor would they “stray too far from the results of [opinion] polls or public speculation”, according to Kompas.com.

Other figures believed to be in the running are: East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa; Ilham Habibie, the third son of former president BJ Habibie; Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD; and Yenny Wahid, the second daughter of former president and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) leader Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid.

Most of these shortlisted figures have indicated their disinterest, however. Political observers suggested this could be because Anies was known as “the father of identity politics”, in reference to public perception of his close association with hard-line Muslim groups during the divisive 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial race.