PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES

The presence of informal leaders, especially ulama, remains influentialin the current regional election in Indonesia. Through their religious authority, they shape voter preferences and provide legitimacy to political candidates. Consequently, they occupy a strategic position that bridges elite and public interests. This creates a unique opportunity to understand informal leaders as brokers who persuade voters. Some studies have suggested that the role of ulama is widely recognised due to their religious and charismatic authority. However, this is inadequate to capture the current local political configurations as new actors emerge to replace the established ones. Ultimately, this led to a change in allegiance, with the emergence of new informal figures such as Gus (a young ulama) and Nyai (wife or daughter of ulama) in the local public space. The findings of the study show that struggles over socio-cultural patronage exist between old and new patrons. It has resulted in heated tensions in society. While old local patrons represented by ulama tend to maintain their influence over society, it faced new challenges from other actors who aspired to be new patrons particularly during local elections.