Waiting for an Offer Letter: Is the Company Stalling or Considering Other Candidates?

I am in a precarious situation.

I cleared all the rounds of the interview for Company A. There was no communication from Company A after that. Then, after a week, I called up HR from Company A, and we had a salary discussion round, where I requested X LPA. HR informed me that she would check with management and inform me in a few hours. Again, there was no communication from HR, and my skepticism is growing. Now, after 2 days, I called HR again, we had another discussion, and HR and I both decided on an (X-1) LPA package. HR said she would send me the offer letter the next day. Again, the same thing happened—no communication from HR. I called up again after 2 days, and immediately on the call, HR said I would receive the offer letter within an hour. It's been a day, and I have still not received the offer letter yet.

Questions to the recruiters

1) Is the company also negotiating with other candidates, and if they get them at a lower salary, will they hire them?

2) During the discussion, HR mentioned that the project starts in July 2024; can that be the reason for the delay?

3) Should I consider that they will not give me the offer letter and start giving interviews again?

Please guide.

Understanding Employment Offer Dynamics

The possibilities of your apprehensions (all three apprehensions) becoming reality cannot be ruled out. Before an offer letter is communicated to a candidate, the employment contract will not be deemed to have initiated. They can very well look for others who could match their expectations both in respect of skills and cost. If you call HR constantly, they may think that you are desperately looking for opportunities, which can even lead to your interview evaluation sheet being placed in the basket where unselected CVs are kept. Therefore, if you are currently employed, never give such an impression to HR that you are desperately looking for a change. Wait, and in the meantime, look for better opportunities.