In a quiet development within Kiwi-Indian political space, Sunny Kaushal - a former Labour Party candidate for List Member of Parliament. and Labour candidate for Pakuranga electorate in the 2011 elections - has joined the National Party.
Mr Kaushal was welcomed by the National Party President Peter Goodfellow and the Party regional chair Andrew Hunt in a quiet event in Auckland on Friday, June 30.
This has come after Mr Kaushal has left the Labour Party in early May this year after almost a decade-long connection with the Party.
By his own admissions, Mr Kaushal's association with the Labour Party has started in 2008 elections after a period of association with Prime Minister Helen Clark both in his professional role and community events in the Indian and ethnic communities.
Earlier Mr Kaushal's exit from the Labour Party just before the release of Party's list of candidates for List MP, where his name was not included had widely reinforced a perception in the community that his exclusion from the list might have triggered his exit from the Party.
Regardless of the basis of these perceptions in the community, two things are apparent from this development.
First - the leaders within the community who had a first hand connect with the Labour Party during heydays of Helen Clark-Phill Goff leadership are gradually slipping into political oblivion in the current Labour leadership.
Second - leading to an important question if the Labour Party will be able to re-establish the connection with the Kiwi-Indian community that it enjoyed during Helen Clark-Phill Goff days.
Will Labour's loss be National's gain?
Only time will tell if the current Labour leadership has done a major miscalculation in sidelining Mr Kaushal from the Party in building bridges with the Kiwi-Indian community.
Indeed, Sunny Kaushal is a popular leader and have grass root level support within the community.
Recently, Mr Kaushal has achieved some considerable success in mobilising the community around a major issue of concern for the community - rising crime and aggravated robberies against small business owners.
Mr Kaushal has taken the lead in forming a community initiative Crime Prevention Group with a stated goal of seeking change in law and demanding tougher punishment for the perpetrators of such crime.
Indeed, on many occasions community has rallied around him, indicating the level of connection he enjoys within the community.
To what extent will this development (Mr Kaushal joining National) amplify National Party's already overflowing fortunes in this election will be seen in the future.
But Labour Party might have to re-assess their strategy of connecting with the Kiwi-Indian community.
Apart from Priyanca Radhakrishnan, who is really working hard and enjoys a connect with the community, other Labour candidates still appear to be a rookie in the community.
Similarly, another major South Auckland group, which has traditionally been aligned with the Labour Party has extended its support to the ACT Party.