Presidential candidate Anies Baswedan declared the General Chairperson of the National Awakening Party (PKB), Muhaimin Iskandar, or Cak Imin, as his running mate on Saturday (2/9/2023).
Many speculate that Anies took this step to garner votes from PKB supporters, particularly Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) members in East Java.
So, how significant is PKB's role in attracting NU voters?
According to Denny JA, founder of the Indonesian Survey Circle (LSI), PKB is not the only political party preferred by Nahdliyin (NU followers).
"Data shows that NU voters are actually spread across many parties, and PKB is not even the most favored party among NU voters," said Denny JA in a statement on his Instagram account, Monday (4/9/2023).
According to LSI Denny JA's survey, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) achieved the highest electability among NU voters, at 21.9%.
Then there's Gerindra, whose electability among Nahdliyin reached 13.6%.
Below that is PKB with 11.6% of the vote from Nahdliyin. Its electability is only slightly higher than Golkar, which received 11.2%.
(Read also: Anies Teams Up with Cak Imin, Reshaping the 2024 Election Coalition Map)
According to Denny JA, PKB's electability among Nahdliyin is influenced by the history of PKB General Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar and PKB founder Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur.
He mentioned that some NU voters still harbor resentment towards Cak Imin, who is perceived to have sidelined Gus Dur. Furthermore, this issue is still being fueled by Gus Dur's daughter, Yenny Wahid, who openly opposes Cak Imin.
"That's why, among NU voters, PKB is not even the favorite party," said Denny JA.
It should be noted that Denny JA has not further detailed this survey of NU voter base. However, this survey is part of LSI Denny JA's national survey series for August 2023, involving 1,200 respondents. The sample was selected using a multistage random sampling method.
This data was collected from August 1-8, 2023, using face-to-face interviews with questionnaires, with a margin of error of around 2.9% and a 95% confidence level.