Medan. Bobby Nasution, the son-in-law of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, officially joined the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) on Monday, further deepening the feud between the president’s family and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

The PDI-P has been instrumental in enabling Jokowi to serve two terms as president and shaping the political careers of his son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, and Bobby.

Bobby was elected mayor of Medan while Gibran became mayor of Solo about four years ago, thanks to PDI-P support.

However, tension quickly escalated after Gibran became the running mate of Prabowo Subianto in the presidential election, withdrawing support from PDI-P’s presidential nominee, Ganjar Pranowo.

Bobby is the first member of the presidential family to announce his departure from PDI-P.

"Praise be to God, I officially became a Gerindra cadre starting today. My application was immediately accepted by Gerindra’s North Sumatra chapter,” Bobby told reporters in Medan, showing his brand new membership card.

He said he chose Gerindra as his new political endeavor because the party holds the same principles and values as his own.

Irawan Pasaribu, head of Gerindra’s North Sumatra chapter, said the party warmly welcomes Bobby’s arrival as a valuable asset that will boost the party’s popularity among voters.

“We need young leaders with the determination to bring advancement to North Sumatra,” Irawan said.

Bobby’s move to Gerindra came after the party’s secretary-general, Ahmad Muzani, said that the Medan mayor is among the potential candidates for the upcoming gubernatorial election in North Sumatra.

Gerindra was founded by Prabowo, who will be sworn in as the country’s eighth president in October.

Add as a preferred source on Google +