Jakarta. Former Vice President Jusuf Kalla has ruled out the possibility of joining presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo's campaign team, despite a recent meeting with a prominent member of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Last week, Kalla received a visit from Puan Maharani, who heads Ganjar's campaign team in the PDI-P, at his private residence in Jakarta.

When asked by reporters during an event at the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) headquarters if he might consider joining the campaign team, Kalla responded with a firm "Not at all. How come?"

Kalla said that he maintains open communication with leaders from various political spectrums in the country and all presidential candidates while refraining from direct involvement in politics.

"I've had discussions with Anies Baswedan, Puan, and Prabowo Subianto on ways to prevent political divisions," Kalla said.

The upcoming election is anticipated to feature three main candidates: former Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, and former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan.

While Kalla did not explicitly disclose his preference among the three candidates, he has hinted at his support for Anies in multiple media interviews.

In a recent interview, Kalla downplayed the significance of numerous surveys that ranked Anies as the least favored among the three candidates. He argued that election surveys, which involve only 1,200 respondents, "cannot accurately represent the will of 205 million voters." 

Kalla pointed to the 2016 US presidential election as an example, in which Donald Trump defied pre-election surveys to win the presidency, despite losing the popular vote.

In 2017, Kalla openly supported Anies in the Jakarta gubernatorial election.

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