KALLA, WIRANTO MEET MEGAWATI AT HER RESIDENCE

Jakarta, May 8 (ANTARA) - Presidential hopeful Muhammad Jusuf Kalla and his running mate Wiranto came to Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDIP) leader Megawati Soekarnoputri's residence on Friday afternoon for political talks with the latter.

Jusuf Kalla, chairman of the Golkar Party and Wiranto, chairman of the People's Conscience (Hanura) Party, arrived at Megawati's residence together in a VW car.

PDIP Advisory Board chairman Taufiq Kiemas, Megawati's husband, greeted Kalla and Wiranto after they had stepped out of their car.

Kalla and Kiemas shook hands and rubbed cheeks, and so did Wiranto and Kiemas who was accompanied by PDIP secretary general Pramono Anung and PDIP executive Panda Nababan,
On the occasion, Kalla was accompanied by Golkar secretary general Sumarsono, Golkar executives Burhanuddin Napitupulu and Aksa Mahmud, while Wiranto came with Hanura secretary general Yus Usman.

Kalla's meeting with Megawati would be the first since he and Wiranto declared they would run for president and vice president respectively in the July 8 election.

For Jusuf Kalla, the meeting with Megawati would be his fourth since the process of the general elections 2009.

Jusuf Kalla, Wirantao, Megawati Soekarnoputri, and Prabowo Subianto (chairman of Gerinda Party) and some other political parties recently signed an agreement to form a grand coalition in Parliament.

The party leaders said in a joint statement that the so-called grand coalition was aimed at strengthening political cooperation in the national and regional parliaments. They rejected suggestions the pact was a move to gang up on Yudhoyono.

Parties or coalitions of parties that win at least 20 percent of the seats in the 560-member House of Representatives or 2.5 per cent of the popular vote may nominate candidates for the July 8 presidential election. ***