New BJP govt in Odisha hits the ground running, but what major challenges does it face?

As new Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi takes guard, the BJP-led government is bracing for a bumpy road, with the first challenge before it to deliver on the promises made during the election campaign. For the 52-year-old CM, who has no previous ministerial experience, keeping all the factions in the party united and facing the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in the Opposition for the first time will also be among the major challenges.

After taking the oath on Wednesday, Majhi chaired his first Cabinet meeting, where the government announced its decision to open on Thursday all four entrance gates of the Jagannath Temple in Puri, which was one of the party’s poll promises and had been an emotive issue among voters. Entry for devotees had been restricted since the Covid-19 pandemic, with the BJP promising to open all four gates in its manifesto and Union Home Minister Amit Shah among the BJP leaders who raised the issue during the campaign. The Cabinet also approved a corpus of Rs 500 crore for the security and beautification of the shrine.

On the issue of the missing keys of the temple’s “Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove)”, which the BJP had used to target the Patnaik government, the party has promised to publicise an inquiry report into the matter. Besides, it also promised to open the Ratna Bhandar for a fresh inventory of the precious jewels stored in it — last done in 1978 — but no decision was made at the Cabinet meeting.

The state Cabinet also approved the implementation of two of its major poll promises within 100 days — increasing the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy to Rs 3,100 per quintal and Subhadra Yojana, under which it has promised to provide a voucher of Rs 50,000 to every woman that can be encashed in two