Congress circles are agog with speculation over the implications of the move for power equations within the party as the secretariat is likely to emerge as a rival power centre to the George-Arjun Singh-Fotedar caucus operating at 10, Janpath.

The secretariat will be the interface between Sonia Gandhi and the rest of the party and will have the task of coordinating all her political appointments and day-to-day functioning as Congress president. At present, this is being done from her residence under the watchful eye of her loyal private secretary V George.

What has given impetus to the expectation that the influence of the caucus at 10, Janpath will be curbed is the fact that George is unlikely to be shifted to the secretariat. Party sources said he willremain at her residence to deal with her private affairs as he has been doing all these years.

Interestingly, the proposal for a full-fledged corporate-style CPO was mooted and pushed by senior CWC members who are otherwise uncomfortable with the new culture Sonia Gandhi is seeking to introduce in the party. The reason for this unexpected backing for ``modernisation'' from dyed-in-the wool conservatives like Karunakaran and Vijayabhaskara Reddy, according to party sources, is their desire to give the 10, Janpath coterie a black eye.Of course, the plea used was that George has too much on his plate and his workload should be divided.

Predictably, rival factions have already started lobbying to push their candidates to man the secretariat which will ultimately control access to Sonia Gandhi. The race to head the influential office is believed to have narrowed down to two persons -- Margaret Alva and Ram Pradhan.

Sonia herself is said to have been keen on Pradhan with whom she has a long association.However, his defeat in the recent Rajya Sabha elections at the hands of Congressmen in Maharashtra may make it embarrassing for Sonia to appoint him.

Alva seems to be emerging as the consensus choice, largely because the various power groups in the party see her as a non-controversial person without the kind of personal influence Pradhan has with Sonia. She already heads the grievance cell set up by Sonia to deal with complaints and petitions from disgruntled Congress workers.

While the proposed CPO is yet to be concretised, a room to house the unit has already been reserved at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters at Akbar Road. Both this room and that of the Congress president are being refurbished to fit in with the new image of the party.