With less than three weeks to go for the April 9 Assembly election, Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangaswamy moved to steady the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Union Territory, reaffirming his party’s tie-up with the BJP and agreeing to accommodate a new entrant led by the elder son of lottery baron, Santiago Martin. The decision followed days of uncertainty within the ruling front.

Under the revised arrangement, the All India NR Congress (AINRC), led by Rangaswamy, will contest 16 of the 30 seats, while the BJP will contest 10, and the AIADMK, as well as the newly formed Latchiya Jananayaga Katchi, will contest two seats each. With that, at least on paper, the NDA’s seat-sharing puzzle has been resolved.

The development marks a shift for Rangaswamy, who had initially resisted the inclusion of the new party in the alliance and had even skipped a scheduled meeting with the BJP’s election in-charge, Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya, a day earlier. After negotiations and a conversation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he relented. Rangaswamy filed his nomination papers on Friday from Thattanchavadi and Mangalam and is set to be the NDA’s chief ministerial face.

The Opposition alliance, however, remains in flux.

The Congress and the DMK, partners in the INDIA bloc, continued to negotiate seat-sharing with little sign of convergence. The Congress has proposed contesting 15 seats while offering 13 to the DMK and leaving two for smaller allies. The DMK has rejected the formula, insisting instead on an equal division of 14 seats each and deferring the choice of chief minister until after the election.

Congress leaders have conveyed their position to the DMK leadership and are awaiting a response. At the same time, the party has indicated that it may consider contesting alone if its terms are not accepted — a familiar pressure tactic in Puducherry’s coalition politics, where alliances are often shaped as much by leverage as by ideology.

The disagreement reflects a deeper contest over leadership. Congress leaders argue that Puducherry has historically followed a “time-tested” arrangement in which the Congress leads the alliance locally, while the DMK leads in Tamil Nadu — a logic the party is reluctant to abandon. The DMK, however, is pressing its case based on recent electoral performance and its growing footprint in the Union Territory.

Even as talks continue, both parties have moved ahead with nominations. Candidates from the Congress and the DMK have filed papers in most constituencies ahead of the March 23 deadline, with the understanding that withdrawals can follow if an agreement is reached.

The parallel processes, negotiation and nomination, underscore the compressed timeline facing both alliances. The nomination process began on March 16, leaving little room for prolonged bargaining.