Chattaerbox: Which side is Telangana CM Chandrashekar Rao going to take?

What’s going on?

Has Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao finally decided which side he’s going to side with? Opposition hopes were kindled when KCR offered all possible logistical support to the government formation in Karnataka by offering to house MLAs from the Janata Dal (S) and Congress in Hyderabad. This was preceded by a meeting with Mamata Banerjee a few months ago to put together a non-Congress, non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) front. But he was conspicuously absent at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence along with Banerjee, Chandrababu Naidu and Kumaraswamy during their visit to Delhi last week. Moreover, at the Niti Aayog meet, KCR was seen mingling with BJP Chief Ministers Raman Singh and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, instead of those from the Opposition side. What’s really going on ?

To do or not to do

Is a cabinet reshuffle on the cards? The BJP is clear it does not want any more alliance partners to decamp from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is unlikely to leave. But the two other big alliance partners — Shiv Sena and Janata Dal (United) — are making noises that sound suspiciously like exit music. Sena’s hostility is India’s worst kept secret; and elements in the JD(U) have begun to say they are perfectly capable of fighting the next Lok Sabha elections on their own. The BJP appears to be taking this threat seriously and elements in the party are fanning the flames. A reshuffle may be a lollipop offered to sweeten the mix and keep the NDA — such as it is — intact !