Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Great Indonesia Movement Party's ongoing plan to merge with smaller parties may be a ploy to win more votes in 2014, but a political observer has warned it could invite a voter backlash.

Yunarto Widjaja, an analyst from Charta Politika, said on Sunday that the party, also known as Gerindra, was merely making a grab at power with its merger with the Reform Star Party (PBR) on Friday, the latest in a series of behind-the-scene deals struck by political parties recently.

Yunarto said he believed PBR, which is not represented in the House of Representatives or cabinet, finally agreed to join Gerindra because it saw the party's founder, Prabowo Subianto, an ex-special forces commander, as having a good chance of winning the next presidential election.

"It's a picture of our election in 2014, that it no longer concerns ideological coalitions – all of it will be about pragmatism," he said. "The small parties know that Prabowo has a big chance of becoming the next president and they hope to be taken along as part of the next government."

Gerindra is said to be proceeding with plans to create an alliance of 10 smaller political parties as part of a bid to win at least 13 percent of the total votes in the 2014 general elections.

PBR is the seventh party to join Gerindra so far. Six other parties have already signed similar agreements with Gerindra, including the Indonesian United Ummah Party (PPNUI), Indonesian National Party of Marhaenisme (PNI Marhaenisme), Labor Party and Indonesian Unity Party (PSI).

Gerindra is reportedly also courting three other parties, including the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) and Indonesian Workers and Employers Party (PPPI).

The rash of mergers has swelled Gerindra's ranks and the party now boasts more than 1,400 legislators at the local and national level. However, Yunarto said the mergers did not mean people who voted for the smaller parties in 2009 would automatically vote for Gerindra in the 2014 polls.

"The main message of these mergers is that Gerindra is a big party that has the ability and resources to co-opt other smaller parties," he said. "It has a big psychological effect on voters – that Gerindra is domineering."

Ahmad Muzani, Gerindra's secretary general, confirmed that the party's recent moves were related to Prabowo's campaign for the presidency in 2014. "We are now confident in facing the next election," he said.

Another senior Gerindra executive, Martin Hutabarat, said Prabowo, who ran as the vice presidential candidate to Megawati Sukarnoputri in 2009, stood a good chance to win in 2014.

"The people are now in need of a political figure who can make firm decisions – and Prabowo can fulfill that," Martin said without explaining.