KEY POINTS:
National's Indian immigrant candidate Ravi Musuku is a man of great faith.
Not only because he is a Baptist church pastor, but also because he says he genuinely believes he will be able to take the electorate of Mt Albert from the Prime Minister on November 8.
Mr Musuku, who insists he is no sacrificial lamb, said: "I wouldn't be standing if I didn't believe I can win."
In the last election, the 52-year-old church leader stunned the Labour camp when helped to more than double National's support in Helen Clark's electorate, and says he has a "great feeling" that he will be able to achieve an even bigger feat this time.
"I am very confident that I will get this (Mt Albert) seat," he told the Herald.
But despite his achievements in 2005, National dropped Mr Musuku's list ranking from 48 to 65 this election - behind other first time ethnic candidates Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi and Melissa Lee which, unlike Musuku, are in positions that would almost surely see them get into Parliament.
"Definitely it was a great disappointment," Mr Musuku said about the drop.
"I was not given any reason, but it is the decision of the leadership and I accept it."
However, he still believes there is still a strong chance that he could still be going to the Beehive on the list, if National gets the support reflected in some recent polls.
"If National gets about 51 per cent and if New Zealand First doesn't get in, then I am in Parliament through the list."
Mr Musuku says he has been working very hard since the last election, and this is to ensure that his path to Wellington was through Mt Albert - not the list. He also says that in an electorate where almost half of the voters are non-NZ Europeans, being an ethnic minority candidate is working to his advantage.
"The ethnic communities like me because I am one of them, NZ Europeans like me because they say 'here is some who comes all the way from India, and is taking an interest in the affairs of this nation...giving his time, money and resources'. They are very appreciative of what I am doing."
Mr Musuku, who hosts his own show on Indian radio, has been running a homework programme to help students in low decile schools, rehabilitate and reintegrating prisoners into society and help the poor balance their finances.
He is confident the work he has done in Mt Albert will be translated into support and votes in the election, and says that if he can get 14,000 votes - up from 7,000 in 2005 - then "Helen Clark is defeated".
Mr Musuku speaks four Indian languages fluently, and says his biggest advantage in the electorate is that unlike the Prime Minister, he speaks the language of the common people.
"She talks about things like the global crisis and international economies, but some of them don't even understand this. What they are more interested in is, how much they are getting per week and how to put bread on the table," he said.
"I teach them how to budget their money...some people on the benefit don't know how to do that, and most are more concerned in the day-to-day affairs."
As a married father with two daughters, Mr Musuku says he is also in a better position than Helen Clark to understand the challenges and struggles of families in the electorate.
