Ahead of the NU Congress, Gus Hery's Name is on the Poll, Is it True that the Black Horse is Ready to Surprise?

JAKARTA - Ahead of the 35th Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) Congress, conversations about who will lead the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia are getting warmer. A number of names that have been familiar in the NU elite's calculations are back in the discussion. However, in the midst of a row of figures, a name that is slowly stealing attention emerges: Gus Hery Haryanto Azumi.

Gus Hery's name suddenly became the spotlight after the provisional results of the polling that took place on the NU Online WhatsApp channel circulated widely in the public. In the screenshot that circulated, Gus Hery was in the top position with about 1,900 choices, ahead of KH Abdul Ghaffar Rozin (Gus Rozin) who had about 1,300 choices, and KH Yusuf Chudlori (Gus Yusuf) with 796 choices.

However, the poll is not part of the official mechanism for the election of the PBNU General Chair. The results only reflect the participation of NU Online readers and cannot be used as a measure of the support of the muktamirin who have the right to determine the NU leader through the Muktamar forum.

However, the top position in the poll raises one question that has begun to be widely discussed: who is Gus Hery, and could he become a "black horse" in the race for the position of PBNU General Chair?

For NU cadres, Hery Haryanto Azumi's name is actually not a stranger. The track record of his organization grew from the womb of the Indonesian Islamic Student Movement (PMII). His organizational career began when he led the PMII Ciputat in the 1999-2000 period, before being entrusted to become the General Chairman of the PMII Central Executive Board in the 2005-2007 period. The record of the XV PMII Congress published by NU Online also noted Hery's election as the General Chairman of the PMII PB.

His organizational experience did not stop there. He also once held the trust as Deputy Secretary General of PBNU, a position that gave him experience in organizational dynamics at the national level.

Ahead of the 35th Congress, Gus Hery openly expressed his readiness to run as the candidate for NU's General Chair. He brought the idea of regenerating NU's leadership in the second century with a focus on strengthening kaderisasi, utilizing technology, improving the quality of education and health services for Nahdliyin residents, and expanding collaboration in the NU environment.

In the midst of the emergence of various names that were previously known, such as Gus Yahya Cholil Staquf, KH Zulfa Mustofa, KH Yusuf Chudlori, KH Nasaruddin Umar, KH Abdul Ghaffar Rozin, Gus Salam, and Gus Kikin, the presence of Gus Hery gives its own color in the dynamics of the exchange of candidates for the General Chair of PBNU.

Attention to Gus Hery also does not only come from the digital space. In June 2026, NU senior figure KH Manarul Hidayat publicly expressed support and blessing for Gus Hery to run as the prospective General Chair of PBNU. This support adds to the discussion regarding the possibility of the emergence of a new figure in the process of regenerating the organization's leadership.

However, the road to the PBNU General Chair's seat is still long. The popularity reflected in the poll is not automatically proportional to the results of the Congress. The determination of the NU leader remains in the hands of the muktamirin through the organizational mechanism that has been arranged.

It is in this forum that the track record, leadership capacity, ideas, organizational experience, and the ability to build trust of the participants of the Congress will be the determining factor.

Therefore, the results of the poll are more appropriately viewed as an initial picture of public attention to the candidates, not as a prediction of the final result. But one thing that is starting to become clear: ahead of the 35th Congress, the dynamics are no longer just about the names that have dominated the conversation. The emergence of Gus Hery shows that the regeneration space in the Nahdlatul Ulama body remains open, and it is not impossible to present a surprise until the last second of the Congress.