Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has sought to counter the BJP gameplan of playing the Hindutva card to consolidate its position in the state by trying to ignite public sentiments over issues like Puri Shree Mandira Heritage Corridor (beautification of the Puri Shree Jagannath Temple) by tapping into the religious sentiments of the people.

One of the highlights of Naveen’s fifth innings as chief minister has been his emphasis on the development and beautification of major temples of the state, including the Puri Jagannath temple and the Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar.

Naveen, who is also the president of ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD), flew to Ganjam on Wednesday to attend the Mandira Pratistha of Tara Tarini temple (celebration on the occasion of revamping of ancient Tara Tarini temple), the most famous temple of southern Odisha, which draws devotees from across the country.

One day ahead of the chief minister’s visit, Odisha chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, private secretary to chief minister V.K. Pandian and powerful BJD MLAs had visited this most famous temple of Ganjam that happens to be the chief minister’s home district.

On the Pratistha Diwas on Wednesday, servitors from different temples were brought here to the shrine.

Attending the function, Naveen said: “Odisha is Deba Bhumi (palace of gods). Whenever I come to visit the place, I like it.”

The temple is located on Kumari hills on the banks of river Rushikulya, the lifeline of southern Odisha, about 160km from Bhubaneswar.
Political observers feel that Naveen's focus on the development of major temples is a calculated move to tap into Hindu religious sentiments which is the best of keeping the BJP at bay and increasing the BJD’s vote share.

Despite his secular image Naveen is keenly aware of the fact that Hindus constitute about 93.66 per cent of the state’s population.

Berhampur’s BJD MP Chandra Sekhar Sahu, however, told The Telegraph, “With the active support of the state government and the Ganjam district administration, the renovation work of the temple has been completed.”

On whether it’s part of the BJD’s strategy to checkmate BJP, Sahu said, “Our government is a secular one which had earlier given funds for renovation of mosques and churches. But as the temples are ancient ones, they require more attention and huge funds for renovation. There is no politics in this.”

One of the most ambitious temple development projects of the state is the Puri Heritage corridor project for the beautification of the 12th century Shree Jagannath Temple in the temple town.

However, the project is facing a lot of hurdles with the BJP raising the issue of violation of AMSAR (Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains) Act, alleging that the ongoing digging work near the shrine would adversely affect the temple itself. The issue has reached the court.

In coastal Odisha, the Naveen Patnaik government is also working for the infrastructure development of Chandi Mandir at Cuttack, Maa Sarala temple in Jagatsinghpur, Baladev Jiu temple in Kendrapara district, which are the major religious attractions of devotees across the state.

Similarly, work on the renovation of Samaleswari temple, the most famous shrine of western Odisha that commands reverence all across western Odisha, has been taken up.
BJP’s Baragarh MP Suresh Pujari said: “We are not against any development. However, I feel the Odisha government has a hidden agenda to hijack the ideology of BJP. Why has the government been silent on the temple development issue for the last 21 years.”

Political observers feel that Naveen is playing the religion card cleverly without compromising his secular image.

“The chief minister has earned the goodwill of Hindus by taking up the development of major Hindu shrines. But this is not being done in the name of religion. Hence his secular image remains intact,” said senior journalist Ashutosh Mishra.