The Jagannath Temple at Digha controversy explained: Why Odisha, BJP unhappy with Mamata Banerjee's new 'Dham'?

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee might be keeping the 2026 assembly polls in mind while building the massive Jagannath temple in state’s beach resort Digha. In a way, it is a replica of the 12th century Puri Jagannath Temple in neighbouring Odisha and Banerjee must be hoping to counter the opposition BJP’s accusation of minority appeasement by luring the Bengali Hindus.

The decision, however, has led to a big conflict between the two states. The ceremonial King of Puri Gajapati Dibyasingha Dev and Shankaracharya  Of Puri have opposed naming the upcoming temple 'Jagannath Dham' and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has  written to his West Bengal counterpart to drop ‘Dham’ since Jagannath Dham of Puri is one of the four Dhams of Hinduism in India .

However, it seems like Mamta Banerjee is in no mood to yield before Odisha’s plea. On April 30, on the occasion of Akhyaya Trutiya, CM Banerjee inaugurated the Jagannath Dham at Digha, a beach town  just at the border of north Odisha’s Balasore district.

The controversy furthered as  Ramkrushna Dasmahapatra,the Secretary of the Daita Association of Puri temple, and his clan consecrated the 'Bigrahas' (idols) at Digha. He stated that the 'Bigrahas' are constructed from the remaining Darus(neem wood from which Puri temple’s deities are made) of the Nabakalebar ritual held in 2015 at Puri temple in which the deities had new bodies. After such a controversial statement Dasmohapatra was issued a show-cause notice on May 4 by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA). He was given seven days to clarify his position as his statement had caused a stir. A government investigation subsequently proved that his claim was baseless. Now, the SJTA has issued a fresh show-cause notice to him demanding a written explanation of whether he had opposed the naming of Jagannath temple at Digha  as ‘Jagannath Dham’ while attending its consecration ceremony

Daitas are a group of servitors who conduct Lord Jagannath’s annual Rath Yatra and embark on ‘Banajaga’ to forest areas to locate seasoned  Neem trees suitable for Darus. Since the 'Bigrahas' of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and younger sister Devi Subhadra  besides Lord Sudarshan are made of neem tree trunks as per the star conjunctions and alignments, they need to be replaced after nine, twelve or nineteen years as per tradition. The  Daita clan performs a pivotal role in the ritual.

Gajapati  Dibyasingha Dev, Chairperson of the Puri temple body and  the major servitor of Lord Jagannath, opposed the Digha nomenclature quoting religious scriptures. Adi Shankara had established four Dhams in  India and Puri was first among them.So, no other temple should be tagged as Dham, he added.

The Digha Jagannath temple is 213 feet high, only one foot less than the Puri temple. Spread over an area of 22 acres along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, it was built at a cost ₹250 crore. When controversy arose, Mamata reacted by saying, "Bengal sends maximum tourists to Odisha, they go to Puri throughout the year and attend Rathayatra. If we have built a Jagannath Dham why are you against the idea?"

TMC spokesperson Jay Prakash Majumdar defended Digha temple and questioned the BJP’s stance on the matter. "Being a Hinduvadi party one of their members is raising questions about a Hindu temple. That is the fallacy." Majumdar has accused Odisha’s BJP-led government of hypocrisy and said any concern regarding the temple‘s consecration should be addressed by four Shankaracharyas, not political leaders. 

Incidentally, Puri  Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati has criticized the West Bengal Chief Minister over the issue. In a message he said, "Puri’s economy and sustenance of ‘pandas’(servitors) and local shopkeepers depend on Bengali tourists visiting Puri. Mamta Banerjee thinks if Jagannath temple is set up in West Bengal the Bengali pilgrims will spend money only there. She is clever. An economy game is being played in the name of Lord Jagannath." 

Claiming that calling Digha shrine ‘Jagannath Dham’ is wrong the Shankaracharya said, "everyone knows about the sacred Kashi Viswanath Temple. If the same name is applied to another shrine it will not be acceptable." Jyotish Pitha (Uttarakhand) Shankaracharya  Avimukteshwaranand  Saraswati has also affirmed that the term ‘Jagannath Dham’ should be used exclusively for the Puri temple.The Puri seer also said Mamta wanted him to consecrate Digha idols. 

Meanwhile, union minister and BJP’s West Bengal Chief  Sukanta Majumdar said Mamta was trying to win the upcoming election for West Bengal assembly by ‘climbing on the shoulders of Lord.’ Odisha BJP MP and party’s national vice-president Baijayant Panda has also slammed West Bengal over the matter.

Amidst this controversy, the Odisha government has announced that it plans to introduce an advisory containing guidelines for all Jagannath temples across the country. Although not legally binding the proposed advisory by Odisha aims to align the operations of these temples with the traditional practices followed at the main shrine in Puri,said Odisha’s Law Minister Mr Prithviraj Harichandan. Mandap  and Chhatisa Nijog of Shri Mandir will make these guidelines. The Law minister also said that the Puri Jagannath temple servitors will soon  eceive a standard operating procedure (SOP).

Sevayats of Jagannath temple must not offer seva elsewhere. They must adhere to specific rules and regulations which will be detailed in the proposed SOP which will also establish parameters for servitors regarding their media interactions about temple rituals and festivals.