New Zealand's relationship with India looms as an unlikely but poignant election issue this year, as shown by the political fall-out from a trade pact.
Wellington and New Delhi will sign a free trade deal on Monday, following years of courting from Chris Luxon's coalition government.
While still in opposition during the final days of the 2023 campaign, the prime minister made a pledge to secure an agreement, earning him much derision from opponents and commentators.
However, Mr Luxon's ambition has been vindicated by first winning the election, and then in December by ensuring Indian support for a deal.
Under attacks from Mr Luxon, and after months of negotiations, Labour offered conditional support for the deal on Thursday, meaning it should be ratified by parliament.
The FTA will remove tariffs on 80 per cent of Kiwi products and provides exporters with improved access to the nation of 1.4 billion people.
However, not everyone is pleased and the three government parties have been split on the matter, while the opposition has been unconvinced.
Mr Luxon's centre-right National party is all-in on the deal, championing its relationship with India and the 300,000-strong and growing Indian diaspora.
The populist NZ First party - led by firebrand Winston Peters - is not, exercising an "agree-to-disagree" provision in its coalition deal and wholeheartedly campaigning against it.
That opposition intensified in the past week when NZ First's deputy leader, Shane Jones, told a far-right internet radio station he was "never going to agree with a butter chicken tsunami coming to New Zealand".
The comments have been condemned by many - including Labour leader Chris Hipkins - as racist, and by Mr Luxon as "unhelpful".
It has also made international news, with a number of headlines in Indian media.
Mr Jones, who has a reputation for flourishes of rhetoric, is unrepentant, telling Newstalk ZB no one could "put a stone on the tongue of the champion of the provinces".
Beyond the invective, NZ First argues the deal was rushed, offers too much by way of migration pathways, "and does not get enough in return for New Zealanders".
Under the deal, New Zealand will allow 5000 temporary work visas to Indians every three years to meet skills shortages, with another 1000 student visas issued annually.
Another controversy is an investment clause stipulating New Zealand will invest $28 billion in India over the next 15 years.
National says that is an ambition, while NZ First maintains it is mandatory, and Labour isn't sure.
Mr Jones' remarks carry more salience than just an argument over free trade.
While both parties are in government, National and NZ First are increasingly butting heads as they chase support ahead of the November 7 election.
NZ First is riding a wave, up from six per cent at the 2023 election to hit 10 per cent and higher on current polling.
As far-right commentator Cam Slater notes, the "butter chicken tsunami" language was chosen to "reframe the India FTA debate from trade benefits to immigration costs".
Immigration does not have the same political salience in New Zealand as it does Australia, given weaker inflows of people.
However, the issue has seen the populist force position itself as a champion for existing New Zealanders on the campaign trail.
It's also been a rebuke to Mr Luxon's embrace of multiculturalism and, particular, the Indian disapora.
In 2023, Mr Luxon was regularly pictured alongside Indian migrants on the campaign trail as he made preventing crime against retailers one of his foremost causes.
Many Indian migrants have taken ownership of New Zealand's corner stores, known as dairies, and found themselves victims of assaults and theft.
Mr Luxon has continued his close connection with Indian migrants as prime minister, regularly posting his visits to festivals and temples on his various social media channels.
There's also talk of a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the months before the election, with speculation he might stage a rally-style appearance at Auckland's Eden Park in July.
And while NZ First is on the rise, National is slumping, with Mr Luxon navigating one of the most difficult months of his tenure.
A disastrous poll released a week ago put National, which had 38 per cent support at the election, below 30 per cent, and had Mr Luxon as the preferred prime minister of just 16 per cent of Kiwis.
The same poll had Labour taking office, which if replicated in the election would create history as the first time a National-led government has been turfed after one term.
That poll saw Mr Luxon moving - and winning - a confidence motion in a partyroom ballot on Tuesday, in an extraordinary move that he said would allow him to move past leadership speculation.
Unfortunately for Mr Luxon, the only way to do that is to improve National's poll position, in an environment where NZ First are eating their lunch.
