File photo of Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan
Before midnight on Wednesday, as the new NCP ultimatum on seat sharing was about to expire, its ally Congress declared a list of 118 candidates for the Maharashtra elections.
The NCP had demanded that unless the Congress responds to its demand - 135 seats and rotation for the Chief Minister's post - by night, the party would go it alone in the polls. But there was no reaction to the Congress move from the NCP camp.
The Congress list comes roughly three days before the deadline for filing of nominations is to expire - and before its Central leadership took the final call on the NCP demand, which the state leaders have already dubbed "unreasonable".
Though the state Congress isn't willing to offer NCP anything more than 124 seats, the list of 118 still leaves room for negotiations to continue.
But the announcement also signals that the Congress has a "Plan B" in place in case of a split.
"We are discussing names for all seats in case the alliance does not work out," chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had told NDTV earlier.
The party has already made it clear that it would not be responsible for a break-up. "We hope the NCP will accept our proposal. We will not be responsible for any (possible) break up (of the alliance)," state Congress leader President Manikrao Thakre told the Press Trust of India on Tuesday.
Heading the party list is Mr Chavan, who would be stepping into the assembly poll fray for the first time. Currently a member of the legislative council, he is contesting from the Karad South seat in his hometown.
But he is expected to face tough resistance from party's Vilasrao Patil Undalkar, who has held the seat for years and had refused to vacate it even for the chief minister. But that may not faze Mr Chavan - a three-time member of the Lok Sabha.
Other prominent faces in the list include incumbent ministers like Harshvardhan Patil, Narayan Rane, Suresh Shetty and Dr Patangrao Kadam.
The declaration of the Congress list, though, steals the NCP's thunder. The rotation twist had been introduced by Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and nephew of party chief Sharad Pawar. While Pawar Senior has not been in favour of a split, Mr Ajit Pawar believes the party should explore new avenues.
A faction in Congress alleges it is a deliberate strategy of the Pawars to blow hot and blow cold. Others feel there has been a genuine rift between the two over the continuation of the alliance and the post of the chief minister.
There has been a speculation that the road may even lead to the BJP in case it parts company with Sena. "There is a suspicion that the NCP is talking to the BJP," admitted a source in the Congress.