Megawati Between Puan Maharani And Prananda Prabowo

JAKARTA After being buried in the 2019 Congress, the discourse of the daily position of Chairperson of the PDI-P DPP resurfaced ahead of the 2025 Congress. The Daily Chair is considered to be able to help the General Chairperson of the PDIP, who is likely to be held by Megawati Soekarnoputri again to carry out technical tasks.

Yes, the figure of Megawati Soekarnoputri is known to have been recommended to remain the General Chair of the PDIP for the period 2025-2030 through the National Working Meeting V which took place in Jakarta May 24-26. Rakernas V Party after listening to the general views of the PDI-P DPD throughout Indonesia asking Megawati Soekarnoputri's willingness to be appointed and re-established as Chairperson of the PDI-P, the 2025-2030 Period at the VI Congress in 2025," said Puan Maharani when reading the recommendation.

PDIP politician Aria Bima revealed that if the daily chairman position is approved, Megawati's position as general chairman can function like a upper house or shuro council which has veto rights to technical decisions taken by the daily chairman. "In addition, the position of daily chairman can also help the internal regeneration process of the PDI-P to continue the leadership relay from Mrs. Megawati," he said.

The regeneration process of leadership in PDIP has often been in the spotlight of many parties. How not, Megawati's figure has been the General Chair of the PDIP since the founding of the party in 1999 and until now the winning political party for the 2014 to 2024 Legislative Election has never had a daily chairman position or deputy chairman.

As was the case before the 2019 Congress, the issue of leadership regeneration and the position of the Daily Chair of the PDIP also involved two names, namely Puan Maharani and Prananda Prabowo. Although both are descendants of Megawati, so far the public has seen hidden competition between the two. This competition is often called by the public with Faksi Puan and Faksi Nanan-Prananda Prabowo-in internal PDIP.

The competition between Faksi Puan and Faksi Nanan has the potential to get more and more attention seeing the PDIP situation which can be called being hit by a storm. The defeat in the 2024 presidential and regional elections in areas that have been known as candang bull', especially Central Java, has become a blow in itself for PDIP. Not to mention if we talk about shifting management in the DPP such as Bambang Wuryanto or Bambang Pacul and finally the legal case that dragged the name of the PDIP Secretary General, Hasto Kristiyanto.

The Current PDIP Situation Is Puan And Nanan's Momentum To Sharpen Political Ability

The Executive Director of the Strategic Political Trias, Agung Baskoro, assessed that the current situation at PDIP could be the right moment to hone the skills and political instincts for Puan Maharani and Prananda Prabowo, so that both of them are ready if Megawati decides to regenerate leadership. This is the right moment I think is to make a Puan or Mas Prananda grow up like their predecessor, their mother, Mrs. Mega, their grandfather Soekarno," he added.

According to him, difficult times could actually be a space for politicians to hone their abilities and instincts. Agung gave an example when Soekarno stepped down to be replaced by Suharto, at that time his children, including Megawati, were also affected. Megawati also found momentum and became one of the politicians who were taken into account when he was active in the PDI during the New Order government, until finally President Suharto stopped due to a wave of reform protests in 1998.

In addition, Megawati has also proven that she can maintain the existence of PDIP which had become an opposition and was in government. "Because the big people I mentioned earlier were big and born because of great turbulence in the country. They even have 'threats' from outside as well. So if you really want to give birth to a big leader again, PDIP, I think this is the right moment," said Agung.

Political observer Muhammad Qodari said that internally the PDIP after the Megawati era did have only two successor candidates, namely Puan or Nanan. But he sees that until now there is no more dominant name as the successor to the leadership baton. Therefore, Qodari believes that Megawati will remain in the PDIP as intermediary. If there is no Mrs. Mega, there is a high possibility that PDIP will experience division. Well, to avoid such a situation, Mrs. Mega remains in their midst," he said.

Apart from division, Megawati's presence is also needed to avoid the entry of third parties as an alternative to the competition between Faksi Puan and Faksi Nanan. If there is no Mrs. Mega there is room for the entry of a third candidate. It's normal in politics, it's still noisy, A and B are like that. The middle way is what are the other candidates," he added.

According to Qodari, Megawati will be the General Chair of the PDIP for life if the internal dynamics between Faksi Puan and Faksi Nanan do not find a common thread or solution. Although it also does not rule out the possibility that the 2025 Congress will be a momentum in which Megawati will decide whether to prefer Puan or Nanan. "In my opinion, if you want one of them to succeed smoothly, he wants to prioritize one of them or not. He has to choose who is the crown prince. As of today, I see that it is difficult for Mrs. Mega to choose the crown prince. So if Mrs. Mega doesn't want to be the chairman for life, then she must choose in the next Congress who she will make the crown prince. We'll see later in the 2025 Congress, whether 100 percent of the Puans or 100 percent Nanans, or still being nice as it is," he explained.

Puan And Nanan Called Can Complement Each Other's Regeneration Of PDIP Leadership

A senior PDIP politician who refuses to be named admits that both Puan and Nanan are indeed prepared to take the helm of the PDIP leadership if Megawati decides to resign from her position as general chairman. Therefore, Megawati herself will decide who will be given the task of continuing the position of Chairperson of the PDIP.

He rejected the assumption that there was competition between the Puan Faction and the Nanan Faction within the PDIP. According to him, either Puan or Nanan can be accepted by all cadres and supporters because both of them cannot be separated from the Soekarno breed. Moreover, the two figures are considered to be able to complement each other considering the different characters of Puan and Nanan.

Nanan is known as a figure who works more behind the scenes or acts as a strategic thinker who plays an important role in formulating political strategies and party policies. Although it is not seen on the public stage, his contribution in building the ideological and strategic foundation of PDIP cannot be ignored.

Mas Nanan can be said to be considered the mastermind behind many strategic decisions of the party. With a strong educational background and long experience in politics, he has the ability to analyze the political situation in depth and formulate the right strategic steps," he said.

On the other hand, Puan has built her reputation as an active and firm politician. The position as Chair of the DPR RI has shown her ability to lead and manage various political dynamics in parliament. Mbak Puan has good interpersonal abilities so that she is able to connect elites at the national level. From this side, she has advantages over Mas Nanan. He is also known as a brave and firm figure in making decisions. His leadership in the DPR shows that Ms. Puan is able to manage various political interests and maintain institutional stability," he continued.

However, the executive director of Indostrategic, Ahmad Khoirul Umam, assessed that the factionalization between Puan and Nanan had been created within the PDIP. Only Megawati Soekarnoputri's factor was able to reduce the factionalization issue and had the potential to threaten the solidity of the PDIP. Therefore, only Megawati was able to bridge the regeneration of the leadership.

"Indeed, it is time for the PDIP to regenerate leadership. Megawati, who is the political partner of this party, must be able to bridge the transition process to be more stable and has no impact on strengthening factionalism and conflicts within the Sukarno family. As a mother to the two brothers, as well as PDIP political soap operas, Megawati's policy direction will certainly be directed to guarantee political stability within her party. But keep in mind, the damping process is not necessarily successful if one of the parties has its egos. This inter-ego dispute needs to be anticipated from conflict and factionalism within the PDIP, "he explained.