Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Mr Wiranto advertises himself as a strong leader that Indonesia needs, but it is Golkar's muscles, as well as brainpower, that he is relying on to stay in the presidential race.

With the party's vast political machinery backing him, the former military chief has a fair chance of qualifying in the first round of the presidential election this month and going on to the run-off in September, his campaign officials believe.

The strategy is to maintain the same level of support from Golkar voters in the eastern and western parts of the country, as in the April legislative election, while "going all out" in Java. "Java is our real battleground," Mr Bomer Pasaribu, the campaign team's coordinator for planning, told The Straits Times.

Mr Wiranto's running mate, Mr Solahuddin Wahid, is one of the leaders of the 40-million strong Nadhlatul Ulama (NU) and a grandson of the group's founder. Most of NU's followers are concentrated in East Java, and Mr Solahuddin could help Mr Wiranto win the ground there.

The Wiranto camp claims to enjoy the support of 26.5 million Golkar supporters and 12 million voters of the Nation Awakening Party (PKB), the party founded by Mr Solahuddin's brother Abdurrahman Wahid, that had endorsed Mr Wiranto's bid.

The party's optimism is justified by the fact that it had a head start in getting the campaign rolling. Last year, Golkar trained 50,000 "campaign masters" from across the country for the legislative election. Of these, about 30,000 are campaigning for Mr Wiranto this month, by approaching Islamic boarding schools and social groupings.

But Mr Bomer might be over-estimating the figure, given the fact that Mr Yusuf Kalla, a Golkar cadre member from its stronghold of South Sulawesi, is running with early front runner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. This could split voters in Sulawesi.

Experts also doubt Golkar and PKB's claim that Mr Solahuddin's family background would win him more supporters than the group's chairman Hasyim Muzadi, who is President Megawati Sukarnoputri's running mate.

Besides, public opinion polls show Mr Wiranto is still trailing far behind Mr Bambang. An independent poll commissioned by Golkar for internal use, a copy of which was obtained by The Straits Times, showed that nearly 50 per cent of respondents rooted for Mr Bambang, while Mr Wiranto only got 17 per cent support.

For Golkar, the good news from the poll is that Mr Wiranto still wins over the incumbent President and that only 14 per cent of those questioned considered the human rights accusations against him an issue.

Many also consider him a strong leader or a reformist military man, the poll added. To win the hearts of voters, the Wiranto camp is tapping into what seems to be the issues of the day: unemployment, poverty and economic revival.