JAKARTA– North Jakarta, an administrative city, is a stronghold for Anies Baswedan if he decides to run again in the Jakarta Special Capital Region Gubernatorial Election (DKJ). He remains particularly popular among the lower to middle classes.

Ahmad Gozali, the chairman of the Anies Baswedan Warriors (ABW) North Jakarta volunteer node, stated this on Saturday, June 8, 2024, in response to questions about which areas in North Jakarta support Anies.

“Support for Mr. Anies is uniform here. Residents are familiar with his character, efforts, and achievements. Therefore, it will be difficult for any other candidate to defeat Mr. Anies. This is not mere flattery from supporters but based on the opinions of the residents,” said the resident of Penjaringan Subdistrict and District.

Support for Anies is around 51 percent. Although he lost in three areas in the last presidential election—West, North, and the Thousand Islands—he won in the other three areas—South, East, and Central. He only narrowly lost at the provincial level.

In the last presidential election, Anies obtained 41 percent of the vote, narrowly losing to Prabowo, who garnered 41.5 percent. The margin was only a few thousand people. Ganjar received 18 percent of the vote.

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Therefore, Gozali added, volunteers would be thrilled if the Anies-Andika duo could be realized. If that happens, they feel they would easily win the contest, regardless of their competitors.

“Once the gubernatorial and vice gubernatorial candidates are declared, their percentages will become clearer. There is talk of Mr. Anies pairing with former Army Chief of Staff General Andika Perkasa. That would be great, a Civilian-Military duo,” said the man, who works in the private sector.

Regarding Anies' support base in North Jakarta, he is strong among the lower to middle classes, such as in Kampung Akuarium, Kampung Bayam, Tanah Merah, and the Pegangsaan Kepala Gading area. This also applies to other areas in Jakarta.

Residents of Kampung Bayam really want Mr. Anies to lead Jakarta again. He facilitated the construction of public housing there to accommodate residents displaced by the JIS project. During Anies’ tenure, there was no turmoil there. Now, there is unrest because the acting governor is evicting residents.

“The same goes for the residents of Glodok as well. They want Mr. Anies because they were evicted. Mr. Anies seems to be destined to be a leader of the people,” said Ahmad Gozali.