Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Refraining from expressing his readiness to challenge the incumbent Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in July's presidential election, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Friday he wants to become a "state leader".

Kalla made a similar statement during his recent meeting with outspoken Golkar Party lawmaker Yuddy Chrisnandi, who then translated the remark as the vice president's readiness to contest the presidential election.

But when asked to clarify Yuddy's statement, Kalla simply said "I am a state leader now".

"As chairman of the Golkar Party, I am also a state leader. So, I am already a state leader. We all want to become a state leader," he told a weekly press briefing after Friday prayers.

When asked further whether he would join the July race as a presidential candidate, Kalla insisted, "The most important thing is I want to become a state leader".

Yudhoyono has announced his bid for a second five-year term, hinting at maintaining Kalla as his running mate in the upcoming presidential election.

In response, Kalla said in October that he would "accept any position as long as I can contribute to the development of the country." But he added that his plans for the election were subject to the wishes of Golkar.

Senior members of the party, which won the 2004 general elections, have repeatedly asked Kalla to run for president, rather than for vice president. Kalla declined the demand, saying Golkar would decide on this issue after the April legislative elections.

A series of surveys by pollsters showed Yudhoyono was still the most popular candidate in the upcoming presidential race, putting Kalla as an underdog. Kalla's poll rating was even behind Golkar cadre Sri Sultan Hamengkubowono X, who has declared his presidential bid.

There are rumors Golkar is planning on building a coalition with the Democratic Party, the United Development Party (PPP) and the National Awakening Party (PKB) and nominating the pair of Yudhoyono and Kalla in the upcoming election.

"It is just a proposal. The Golkar Party will decide the coalition only after the legislative elections," Kalla said Friday, responding to the rumors.

Political analysts attributed Yudhoyono's increasing popularity to his perceived success in running the country during his last four years in office.

Currently Yudhoyono's Democratic Party has been bombarding TV stations with ads promoting the government's success throughout its reign over the past four years.

The Golkar Party said it would similarly run a massive round of campaign advertising to prop up its popularity ahead of the legislative elections.

Kalla said all political parties could claim the success of the government in their political campaign ads because the achievements could only have been made through the hard work of the president, his deputy and all ministers.

"If an agreement between the 129 Golkar lawmakers in the House cannot be reached, how could the government have ever achieved anything?" he said.