Jakarta. Golkar chairman Bahlil Lahadalia denied Tuesday that his party endorsed Airin Rachmi’s Banten gubernatorial bid out of fear that the female politician would jump ships to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

PDI-P recently endorsed Airin to compete in the Banten gubernatorial race. The party’s chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri even asked Airin to dress in red-and-black: the colors that are synonymous with PDI-P. Airin’s running mate Ade Sumardi is also a PDI-P politician. 

Airin is the former South Tangerang mayor and a Golkar executive. 

Golkar’s endorsement of Airin came as a surprise as Bahlil had initially planned to support Andra Soni, a senior official of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

“Golkar is an independent party that is not affected by anyone’s speech, be it A, B, or C. It is Golkar who has to influence national political issues,” Bahlil told the press in Jakarta on Tuesday. 

Bahlil said Golkar had always stood beside the government to give its best contribution. 

“The decision that we have made today is something that has gone through comprehensive political assessments. Our communication with the Advanced Indonesia Coalition also plays a role in this decision. It is the result of effective political communication without any influence from what other people say in their speeches,” Bahlil said. 

Bahlil claimed that his party had been intensely in talks with Airin while saying that no party could affect whatever Golkar had decided. 

“So no one here is feeling provoked. Stop hallucinating. Let those who get provoked be provoked. We are calm,” Bahlil said.