New Delhi: Will there be a consensus today on the Telangana issue? With the Centre still struggling to finalise its strategy to solve the Telangana statehood crisis, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday that the consultation process would end on Monday.

"The consultation process within the Congress is still going on. I think we will be able to complete the process by Monday," Mr Mukherjee said. He, however, refused to set any deadline for the resolution of the matter.

The pressure is now on the Congress for a time bound announcement of its position.

Actor and Praja Rajyam Party chief Chiranjeevi is expected to join discussions today.

The crisis has crippled normal life in the region; protests against party leaders have been taking place now for almost a month now. Even the house of Congress' pro-Telangana Cabinet minister S Jaipal Reddy was attacked, reportedly by Telangana activists, 24 hours after he met Pranab Mukherjee to discuss the issue.

On Sunday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy held talks with Pranab Mukherjee over the various options for a solution to the Telangana issue. He returned to Hyderabad yesterday morning, but Mr Mukherjee, who has now assumed the role of UPA's chief Telangana negotiator, continued his discussions with his party colleagues.

With Mr Mukherjee setting a time frame of Monday for the consultation process to be over, all eyes are set on what could be the possible win-win formula acceptable to pro-Telangana leaders as well as leaders from coastal Andhra and Rayalseema regions of Andhra.

Some of the options that are being talked about are:

Telangana with Hyderabad as capital, an option opposed by leaders from other parts of Andhra as well as a powerful section of people from Hyderabad who do not back the pro-Telangana sentiment
Hyderabad as Union Territory with other regions developing their own state capitals, an option that has few takers
Partition of Andhra Pradesh with Hyderabad being the common capital, but there are serious concerns about whether this is going to be a short term measure or a long term one and also who has rights over Hyderabad's revenue
Another option being talked about is the creation of RayalaTelangana, by including parts of Rayalaseema districts with Telangana. The idea is to have a new state with equal numbers of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats

The only option that the Centre has ruled out for now is that of imposing President's Rule in the state, but even as it continues to stay mum on the options it is exploring, time is running out with pro-Telangana activists threatening to intensify their agitation.

Take By: NDTV