*GUS IPUL AND THE STAGE OF THE 35TH NU CONGRESS, AUGUST 2026*
By: H. Adlan Daie
Political analyst, Secretary General of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) of Indramayu Regency.
H. Saefullah Yusuf, commonly known as Gus Ipul, is a “factor”—like it or not, he cannot be underestimated by any faction in the projections and dynamics of the 35th NU Congress in August 2026.
Gus Ipul handles the issues from upstream to downstream, serving as the committee chair for three major PBNU agendas simultaneously in one package: the National Conference & Grand Conference (Munas & Konbes) and the NU Congress.
His appointment as committee chair for these three major PBNU agendas in one package is clearly not an “ad hoc” or technical matter, but rather a “system operator” within the dynamic vortex of PBNU leadership succession during the 35th NU Congress.
The NU Congress has been Gus Ipul’s “playground.” In at least the last two NU Congresses, he was a key factor in the election of the PBNU chairman: the 33rd NU Congress in Jombang in 2015 and the 34th NU Congress in Lampung in 2021—of course, with all his political alliance choices.
At the Jombang NU Congress, Gus Ipul served as the chairman of the NU Congress committee and as part of the “inner circle,” a core member of the successful team that elected KH Said Aqil Siradj as PBNU Chairman. He continued his work at the 2021 Lampung Congress, which successfully led Gus Yahya to the PBNU chairmanship.
In the projections for the 35th NU Congress in August 2026, it appears that Gus Ipul has parted ways with Gus Yahya in the candidacy for PBNU chairman. Although he has no interest in the position, it is interesting to examine this tactical alliance with Gus Ipul as a factor with the incumbent Rois ‘Am.
The “political” alliance between the incumbent Rois ‘Am of PBNU, KH Miftahul Akhyar, the highest leader of the NU organization, and Gus Ipul as PBNU Secretary General, once again constitutes a pivot of power, a political bloc within the dynamics of the 35th NU Congress, difficult for other pivotal forces and factions to deny.
As PBNU Secretary General and chairman of the Congress committee, which is “under the umbrella” of the PBNU Rois Am, supported by his position as Minister of Social Affairs, he has numerous access points and tactical reasons to map and consolidate his reach within the key vote-holding centers (PWNU and PCNU) in various regions.
Due to his experience at the NU Congress, Gus Ipul’s direction of support and “political” orchestration in the projected 35th NU Congress was not explicitly stated in the public sphere, either by the PBNU General Chairperson or the PBNU General Chairperson. It remains vague, opting for “flexibility.”
This is where reading Gus Ipul’s candidacy projections for the PBNU General Chairperson and the PBNU General Chairperson becomes interesting. He did not narrow down the alliances between the “Ansor” faction, the “PMII” faction, or any other faction, except as Minister of Social Affairs in President Prabowo’s cabinet, he was undoubtedly awaiting “signals” and “directions” from the palace.
Gus Ipul’s political resilience and longevity have been proven, as Gus Yahya wrote in his testimony, “Gus Ipul, who was thought to be ‘dead,’ can always rise again,” he wrote in “Terong Gosong” (edition, October 18, 2021).
Gus Ipul is now at the epicenter, standing like the key “system operator” in the projected dynamic vortex of the 35th NU Congress in August 2026. Wherever the NU Congress will be swung and played, there is Gus Ipul.
He is one of the variables that determines who will be entrusted with the position of Rois Am of the PBNU and who will win the position of PBNU chairman.
Let’s enjoy the series of episodes of the NU drama leading up to the 35th NU Congress, a space for reconciliation among the PBNU elite and a space for conversation among all levels of NU members who “crowd” in the NU Congress arena, while occasionally enjoying the unexpected surprises of NU drama.
“It wouldn’t be the NU we know if the grand stage of the NU Congress didn’t present an ‘element of surprise,’ unexpected surprises,” wrote Prof. Burhanudin Muhtadi in his column for Tempo (August 2015).
Indramayu, May 1, 2026
Regards.
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