Pune: Making it clear that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is open to an electoral alliance with any party, NCP president Sharad Pawar today (Jan 02, 2004) said a final decision on the issue of alliance for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls would be taken during the party's executive meeting on January 25 at New Delhi.

"No political party is untouchable. We have three options before us-to have an electoral alliance with the Congress, to have an alliance with the Left and other parties and the third one is to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)," Pawar told a press conference in Pune.

Pawar's statement assumes significance in the wake of the recent close-door meeting between Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani in Mumbai wherein the issue of allowing the NCP into the NDA fold was reported to have been discussed.

"Since there are clear indications of advancing the Lok Sabha elections, the NCP has convened a crucial meeting to deliberate on political issues and chalk out the electoral strategy, Pawar said.

Without naming the former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Pawar also made it clear that no functionary of the NCP could be sacrificed for any alliance.

On whether Thackeray had deliberately made a statement that Pawar was welcome to the NDA fold minus Bhujbal, Pawar said, "I have stopped reacting to Thackeray's statements".