Narendra Modi’s official residence in New Delhi is on what used to be called Race Course Road. In 2016, it changed to Lok Kalyan Marg or “People’s Welfare Street”, a name more in keeping for a twice-elected leader with populist leanings and a flair for discarding the trappings of India’s colonial past.
Past a cordon of airport-style security, the recently renovated complex (called “Seven LKM” by his staff) has parading peacocks and inner courtyards with ornate flower displays. Inside, one of the meeting rooms boasts maps of the world painted on ceiling frescoes, while the cabinet room is inscribed with lines from the preamble to India’s constitution.
It is from this quiet residence that Modi has managed India’s growing international influence but from where, in the view of many of his domestic opponents, he could also represent a risk to that constitution.