Mumbai, Jan. 2: With both the Congress and the National Democratic Alliance trying to woo him ahead of elections, Sharad Pawar upped the ante today, saying he does not wish to place all his eggs in one basket.

“The Nationalist Congress Party has three options open before it,’’ party chief Pawar said at a news conference in Pune today. He added that he could ally with the Congress — its senior partner in the ruling Democratic Front coalition in Maharashtra — the Left Front or the BJP-led NDA. “No political party is untouchable,’’ the NCP president said.

Out to strike the best deal for his party, Pawar sought to put the pressure on the Congress, from which he has already demanded half the number of seats at election-time. The NCP chief said his party could have separate alliances for the Assembly and general elections.

“Ours is a national party and we have to see the interests of our partymen everywhere,’’ he said.

Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde reacted sharply to Pawar’s attempt to bargain afresh with the Congress before an alliance is sealed. “His statements have come as a nasty surprise,’’ the Congress leader said. But Shinde said he hoped the party would continue its alliance with the NCP.

Pawar, who said he was in touch with all major parties, spoke much like Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray.

The Sena chief said yesterday that deputy Prime Minister .K. Advani had recently spoken to him about including the NCP in the NDA. Thackeray said each party was looking to broaden its base and play safe ahead of elections.

He went on to say that he was not averse to the NCP joining the BJP-led alliance so long as bete noire Chhagan Bhujbal was excluded. The former Maharashtra deputy chief minister had once attempted to imprison Thackeray.

A circumspect but categorical Pawar said “no one’’ would be excluded from the NCP in order to ally with the NDA.