The Sprawling, Beautiful Bungalow That Holds Akhilesh Yadav's War-Rooms

Lucknow: As Akhilesh Yadav actions a full rebuild of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the political landscape of Lucknow is changing, literally. Just a few feet from the main party office lies a two-storey bungalow that's turned into a (very fancy) bunker for his supporters. The beautiful white building with dark wood interiors and a stunning marble-floored terrace is quickly emerging as the control tower as the party confronts a split, with Akhilesh Yadav and father Mulayam Singh leading competing teams.

A section of the new building overlooks the rear of the old-school office. "All in keeping with Vaastu," said a source close to Akhilesh Yadav who was involved with the renovation. "The proximity is enough for separate teams to work, but close enough to keep the fundamental connect between Netaji and Akhilesh's factions," he said, despite evidence all around that the link is all but unchained.

The building, several decades old, includes a largely-unstocked library, long, gleaming corridors and multiple gardens. There is a separate section for the Chief Minister's social media team. Virtually all of it is busy with men who have pledged their loyalty to the Chief Minister over his father. "What can we say? At this time, with elections so close by, to be hit by this. But Netaji must understand - we respect him, we seek his advice, but times have changed. It must be the Chief Minister who has the final say," said a party leader who asked not to be named.
 In October this year, Akhilesh Yadav inaugurated the offices of the Janeshwar Mishra Trust in the bungalow. Mr Mishra, was a senior leader and parliamentarian of the SP, fondly referred to as "Chotte Lohia" for his socialist ideology. Mr Yadav is the chairman of the trust, which was formed in 2013 and allotted the colonial-style bungalow in 2015 (before that, it housed the Town Planning Department).

In the last three months, as the Yadavs' feud spiraled, 7 Bandariya Bagh, renovated at a cost of a crore according to some estimates, has become the war-room for Akhilesh Yadav's supporters. Sources say that the Chief Minister's list of candidates for the election, which paralleled the one released by his father and took their feud up by a few hundred notches, was drafted in this office.

The neighbourhood is named for the once-famous Lucknow Zoo whose original precinct sprawled across its present location to the now-fancy area which holds the Chief Minister's office-plus-bungalow as well as the homes of other VVIPs.