Presumptive presidential nominee Prabowo Subianto hosted Yenny Wahid, the daughter of the former leader of the country’s largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), in what could be a search for his running mate after a party widely associated with the NU switched sides to a rival camp.

After losing last week the National Awakening Party (PKB), Prabowo appeared to move fast to court another potential ally from the NU, hosting Yenny, the daughter of late president and NU chairman Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, at his private residence in Kertanegara, South Jakarta, on Wednesday evening.

An Islamic organization representing many of the country’s mainstream Muslims, the NU has become a powerful political force with an estimated membership of 45 million. The organization – or its members – could be a swing factor in deciding who will be Indonesia’s next president.

Speaking to reporters after their meeting on Wednesday, Yenny sang her praises of Prabowo, describing him as a leader who has “an extraordinary vision” and putting him “at the top priority list” among potential candidates to forge closer ties with.

“Leaders who will guide Indonesia in the future must understand geopolitics, people who have strategic thinking. I think someone like Pak Prabowo has that kind of ability,” Yenny said. “So it is obligatory for me, as a representative of Gus Dur's group, to communicate intensively with [Prabowo] to listen to his policies while voicing our aspirations about what the future of the country should be.”

Earlier that day, when asked about Yenny’s chance of running alongside Prabowo, Prabowo’s brother and financier Hashim Djojohadikusumo called her an “extraordinary” figure and worthy of being on Prabowo’s shortlist of potential vice presidential candidates.

“I have known Mbak Yenny for a long time. And Mbak Yenny's husband used to be a Gerindra [member] and a lawmaker, we know each other very well, very close," Hashim said.

The meeting came only days after the PKB, which counts NU figures as its founders including Gus Dur, ditched Prabowo for opposition-leaning presumptive presidential candidate Anies Baswedan, following an apparent clash between Prabowo and PKB chair Muhaimin Iskandar over the choice of running mate. Muhaimin will now run for vice president alongside Anies.

Having been a key ally of Prabowo in his third presidential bid, the PKB, which had been pushing for Muhaimin to be named running mate for Prabowo, grew impatient over Prabowo’s hesitancy and indications he might favor other candidates, such as State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir.

Anies and Muhaimin are now the first confirmed pairing in what is expected to be a hotly contested three-way race in next year’s presidential election, in which they are expected to run against Prabowo and former Central Java governor Ganjar Pranowo.

After officially parting ways with Prabowo, the PKB now begins consolidating the party machinery at all levels, instructing party leaders at the regional level to work hand-in-hand with counterparts from the NasDem Party to introduce Anies and Muhaimin to their constituents.

The two parties held their first joint working meeting at the NasDem headquarters in Gondangdia, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday afternoon, which members described as “warm” and “filled with eagerness to immediately” shift into high gear.

“We will ask our colleagues at the PKB and NasDem to solidify rank and files. We will not have many meetings, but rather [put in] a lot of work to overcome various challenges for our victory in our respective regions,” PKB deputy chairman Jazilul Fawaid said.

Consolidation efforts may play an important role for Anies and Muhaimin as questions have been raised over whether Muhaimin could help Anies court significant support from the NU to compensate for Anies’ shortcomings in Central and East Java, two traditional stronghold provinces of the PKB and the NU. Muhaimin has had tensions with some of the NU's high-profile figures, including Yenny.

The Anies-Muhaimin pairing has largely been seen as an arrangement being “won at the elite level”, analyst Yunarto Wijaya said.

“[The formation of the Anies and Muhaimin pairing] was fast and largely driven by tactics and battles at the elite level, [but] it doesn't start with consolidation at other levels of the structure of the party let alone at the constituent level,” Yunarto said.

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