India isn't without potential because they do have close ties with Russia and membership in BRICS. And Russia aside from NK is the one country that will go anywhere for China, so it doesn't make sense that India can be close to Russia in the long term without also joining China. Either they must drop Russia as well, or eventually come to embrace the bloc Russia is part of.
Ultimately it is the Indian choice. Stay with your past colonisers and hope they'll throw you a few bones, or ditch UK and US behind permanently.
I think the smart among Indian leadership do realize that the future lies with the East and China's multipolar, international law based order, rather than the West and their Washington dictate based order. But how many Indian leaders are actually smart and what influence they have I don't know, I'm no expert in Indian politics.
I also believe in that China should be lenient with India if they choose to jump sides. Its also a reason why China doesn't pursue destructive strategies against India yet.
India right now can be seen a little similar to the Yeltsin Russian regime. They have some naive picture of the west, but also a fair deal of skepticism. Oligarchies, such as India, are naturally susceptible to siding with other oligarchies like those in the West.
Instead of grilling them constantly over kowtowing to the west and for selling out, it is worth it for China to take things slow and let the indians themselves come to an understanding about which course is more worthy to be followed. The Russians came to their conclusion, China has 5-10 yrs minimum to see through India to theirs.
And should India fall to far right reactionaries, China will still have ways to paralyze them using their neighbors, their own separatist, internal communist unrest and so on.