India, April 22 -- Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Sambalpur Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha, is contesting elections after 15 years. Sambalpur goes to the polls on May 20 in the fifth phase and Pradhan is in the midst of a hectic electoral campaign. Elections for the Odisha assembly and Lok Sabha polls are taking place simultaneously. Pradhan spoke to HT's Debrabrata Mohanty about the BJP's poll plank and his party's prospects. Edited excerpts from the interview:

How do you see chief minister Naveen Patnaik's decision to contest from the western Odisha assembly constituency of Kantabanji affecting the BJP's, as well as your prospects?

Naveen Patnaik contesting from Kanta...