MUZAFFARNAGAR, April 6 -- Union minister of state Sanjeev Kumar Balyan is seeking a hat-trick of wins as the Lok Sabha MP from Muzaffarnagar. After a big victory in 2014, the BJP leader defeated the then Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Chaudhary Ajit Singh by a narrow margin of just over 6,000 votes in 2019. Now, he is in the fray again as the BJP aims to bag all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh to give the Modi government at the Centre a third term. In an interview with HT, he talks about the poll issues in his constituency. Excerpts:

Q: You are not raising the issues of caste and religion in your campaign?

A: No. I raise all those issues which are significant for the people. I am also happy with construction of the Ram temple. We are contesting the ...