TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Seven Golkar elites mull to battle party chairman Aburizal Bakrie during the party's national conference on November 30. Deputy chairman Agung Laksono said the seven candidates allied to stem Bakrie's maneuver, preventing him from getting re-elected.

The candidates, M.S. Hidayat, Priyo Budi Santoso, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, Airlangga Hartarto, Hajriyanto Y. Thohari, and Zainuddin Amali, have met with Bakrie twice, said Priyo.

"We will continue to consolidate to face the incumbent," Priyo said.

Golkar's executives meeting in Yogyakarta decided that the national conference will be held in late November in Bandung, sooner than the initial plan. In the plenary meeting last Friday, Bakrie declared the conference will be held in January 2015.

Golkar politician Agun Gunanjar Sudarsa said moving up the conference's schedule is one of Bakrie's strategies to get reelected.

Priyo Budi Santoso said the party needs leadership regeneration. However, the former House of Representatives' deputy speaker said it doesn’t matter to him which candidate will be proposed to tackle Aburizal. "Whoever is elected against Aburizal, let natural selection plays its part."

Bakrie had refuted the notion that he moved up the conference schedule for his personal benefits. He asked all cadres, including chairman candidates, to obey the decision.

MUHAMMAD MUHYIDDIN | PERSIANA GALIH | ANANG ZAKARIA