Jakarta. Former four-term lawmaker Effendi Simbolon has been expelled from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) after he made an unacceptable mistake: meeting with former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the party said on Sunday.

The revelation further underlines a deepening feud between the party and the former president that broke before the presidential election in February.

Jokowi, who had won two presidential terms with PDI-P becoming his main backer, refused to endorse the party’s nominee for his successor. He instead supported rival candidate Prabowo Subianto who appointed his son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as a running mate and eventually won the election.

Gibran previously had become the mayor of Solo also with PDI-P’s nomination.

The Jokowi family has distanced itself from PDI-P and the gap widened in the recent local leaders’ elections where Jokowi’s son-in-law, Bobby Nasution, ran for the North Sumatra governorship against a sole competitor nominated by PDI-P.

Bobby, the former mayor of Medan, was ousted from PDI-P and he later joined Prabowo’s Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), which supports his gubernatorial bid. He is currently leading the provisional tally over PDI-P’s Edy Rahmayadi.

Effendi was discharged by PDI-P after he met with Jokowi during an event to endorse the candidacy of Ridwan Kamil, who is facing off against PDI-P’s Pramono Anung in the Jakarta gubernatorial election, said party spokesman Aryo Seno Bagaskoro.

Refusal to endorse PDI-P’s candidates alone already merits dismissal from the party’s membership, Aryo said during a news conference in Jakarta.

"Mr. Effendi Simbolon also met and communicated with Mr. Jokowi, that’s another thing. It could be a different story if [Effendi] met with other political figures. The fact is he met with Mr. Jokowi and then took a personal decision against the party’s lines,” Aryo said.

"Effendi Simbolon’s political moves that included a conspiracy and communication with Mr. Jokowi is intolerable for the party,” he added.

In the Jakarta election, Jokowi publicly endorsed Ridwan, not PDI-P’s Pramono who had served as his cabinet secretary for a decade.

Effendi's expulsion adds to the growing list of prominent figures who have left or been dismissed from PDI-P for not endorsing its candidates in recent elections.

Other prominent politicians, including Maruarar Sirait and Budiman Sudjatmiko, left PDI-P for Gerindra ahead of the presidential election. Both now hold positions in Prabowo’s cabinet.

Add as a preferred source on Google +