Senior politicians from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party (PD) admitted on Wednesday that the party was in serious trouble as a result of corruption allegations levelled at some of its politicians, including those on trial for graft.

Some of the politicians said that the Tuesday meeting of the party's 20-member patron board at Yudhoyono's private residence in Cikeas, West Java, was convened to gauge the severity of the situation and find ways to salvage the party, which had been predicted to lose its popularity in the 2014 general elections.

House of Representatives' Speaker Marzuki Alie, also deputy chairman of the party's patron board, described the problem as a "devastating tsunami", while Hayono Isman, another member of the patron board, and the party's deputy chairman Max Sopacua characterized the problem as a major difficulty.

But Marzuki and Ramadhan Pohan, the Democratic Party's deputy secretary-general, denied that the meeting was aimed at finding a way to eject PD chairman Anas Urbaningrum, who had been accused of being involved in the graft case in the construction project of the athletes' village in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Other party members, such as Mirwan Amir and Angelina Sondakh, both members of the budget committee at the House of Representatives, chairman of the House's sports and education committee Mahyuddin and Youth and Sports Minister Andi A. Mallarangeng have also been implicated in a number of graft cases.

PD treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin is now on trial for his role in the village graft case.

Hayono said the meeting discussed "major earthquakes" that rocked the party and concluded that salvaging the party would be a priority. The meeting also decided that Anas was given the trust to save the party.

"The party's position and our hearts are with chairman Anas Urbaningrum. Let's wait on whether he [Anas] will resign to salvage the party or not," he said.

He confirmed all 20 members of the patron board, including Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin, Transportation Minister E.E. Mangindaan and Andi were in attendance at the meeting, presided over by Yudhoyono.

Marzuki declined to disclose details from the meeting but he said he was concerned with the "tsunami" that had swept over the party. He also dismissed speculation that he had started a campaign to oust Anas from his chairmanship. Marzuki said that he had put previous disagreements aside and decided to support Anas' leadership to the party.

Max Sopacua, chairman of Andi's campaign team in the 2010 national congress, said that Tuesday's meeting was to formulate a solution to save the party in the lead-up to the 2014 general elections.

"We have no other alternatives but to salvage the party," he said, adding the party's waning popularity had little to do with Yudhoyono's performance.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto brushed aside speculation that he had been tapped to replace Anas in the event that the party chairman stepped down from his post. "I never heard about the rumors," he said on Wednesday. When asked if he would be ready to lead a political party, Djoko said: "For what?"

Another member of the party's patron board, Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Syarief Hasan denied speculation that Djoko had been groomed to replace Anas. He also denied suggestions that an extraordinary national congress was looming to decide the fate of Anas.

Syarief, however, confirmed that party executives had begun talks on the corruption cases implicating a number of party members including Anas. "These cases have affected our party's image and credibility, as well as our efforts to recruit new members, while Yudhoyono has performed very well in office," he said.