File picture of TRS Chief K Chandrasekhara Rao leaving after meeting Sonia Gandhi at her residence in New Delhi in February.
Across the country, regional parties are evaluating the risks and benefits of supporting the BJP, expected to win the national elections. But
K Chandraskehar Rao or KCR isn't among them.
The man who is expected to sweep Telangana - NDTV's exit poll gives him 71 of the region's 119 assembly seats and 11 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats - is confident that his party will not need any partners to form the first government in India's youngest state. (
NDTV Exit Poll: Telangana Firmly With KCR, Low Returns For Congress)
"We are confident of forming the government on our own," says Kavita K, KCR's daughter. She has run for Parliament from Nizamabad. (
India Votes 2014: Full coverage)
The Congress at the Centre pushed through the proposal to cleave Andhra Pradesh by turning Telangana into its own region. The move was fashioned as a vote-getter. But all the credit in the region for the fruition of a decades-long movement has accrued to KCR. The Congress will get just three of the 17 Lok Sabha seats, shows NDTV's exit poll.
The party was unsuccessful in striking a deal with KCR before the election. In what could serve as some consolation, KCR's Telangana Rashtra Samithi or TRS says it will not collaborate with the BJP in any measure.
The BJP has partnered already with
Chandrababu Naidu and his Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the combo is expected to drive a strong result in the regions of Seemandhra, which will form the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.
12 per cent of Telangana's population comprises Muslims and Christians add up at least one per cent more. "We can't disturb the TRS minority vote base by supporting the BJP-led government,'' Kavita explains.
The TRS' stated antipathy to the BJP is also linked to its partnering with Chandrababu Naidu, who did not openly endorse the need for a Telangana state. TRS sources say this makes Mr Naidu "the natural enemy of Telangana."