Two years of Majhi govt: The good, bad and the ugly
The onset of monsoon this year in Odisha coincides with a significant political juncture in the state as the Mohan Charan Majhi-led BJP government completes two years in power. The season of rains though bears a paradox. While the showers bring relief from the heat and sweat of a long torrid summer, fill the landscape with lush greenery, nourish the farms and germinate the seeds, they too sweep away the dust, laying bare every crack, every pothole on the roads.Governments, too, are much the same. They come to power riding on the people’s hope of change and propagating a vision of a better future. With time, their surface too is scraped, revealing their accomplishments and failures.
Two years have passed since the BJP ended Naveen Patnaik’s 24-year rule and ushered in a new political chapter under Majhi. And, 24 months are a good measure of a government’s performance.
From what has transpired under Majhi regime, the story so far is neither of unqualified success nor dismal failure. The BJP government has made some significant achievements but failed on crucial fronts and found itself embroiled in controversies many a time. It has notched up a complex record that can be best examined through three lenses: the good, the bad and the ugly.
THE GOOD
Immediately after being sworn-in on June 12, 2024, Majhi and his cabinet got off to a rollicking start, bent upon fulfilling the promises made to the people. The four gates of Lord Jagannath temple in Puri, a major poll promise, were opened on the very evening, the governmentThe first cabinet meeting approved the game-changer Subhadra Yojana and enhanced input assistance for the farmers. From reopening of Ratna Bhandar and inventorisation of the deities’ ornaments within to implementation of Ayushman Bharat, the Majhi government moved fast on its headline pre-poll promises, most of which have been fulfilled within the two years.
The ‘double-engine’ government has also prioritised fast-paced industrialisation and investment-led growth as well as accelerated infrastructure development. The Majhi government has already bagged investment proposals tothe tune of around Rs 20 lakh crore and grounded over Rs 3 lakh crore in the two years, a significant achievement in itself.
The government has been able to move away from the conventional mineral-based industrialisation to niche sectors like textiles, electronic and IT manufacturing, alternative energy, apparel and textiles, port-based industries, defence tech and services sector. Odisha has also woven a semiconductor hub dream with several flagship projects lined up for chip manufacturing.The Narendra Modi government at the Centre has been equally generous to Odisha, showering a record Rs 10,928 crore railway allocation this year along with national highway development. Several big-ticket infrastructure projects including Bhubaneswar-Cuttack-Puri-Paradip Economic Zone, Capital Ring Road, new ports and airports are on the anvil.
The state government can also boast of empowering over one crore women through Subhadra Yojana and creating around 23.46 lakh Lakhpati Didis while more than 42 lakh farmers have benefitted from the various state and central incentives including the enhanced input assistanceOne of the major achievements of the BJP government has been the elimination of Naxalism. When it assumed office, nine districts were still categorised as Maoist-affected. Today, they are all free from Naxalism, with leaders and cadres either killed in encounters with security forces or surrendered.
Beyond all this, the Majhi government sustained its people’s governance model with the CM himself leading the charge as he had from Day-1 by opening his doors to the citizens. The grievance redressal systems continued to operate across the