"I am not aware of any move to split the party in Orissa", he told newspersons on his return here from New Delhi.

Asked if the expulsion of the three rebel leaders would have any repercussions on the State Congress, Gamang said he did not know if expelled leader Sharad Pawar ``had any link with any party leader in the State''.

The Chief Minister, who had offered to quit in the wake of AICC president Sonia Gandhi submitting her resignation, said his action was aimed at affirming support and confidence in Gandhi's leadership. He expressed confidence that Gandhi would reconsider her decision to resign.

He said the situation in the party was not a crisis but only a problem, Gamang said, "Even if you think it to be a crisis, there is nothing to worry. The Congress was born in acrisis and becomes stronger after every crisis."

Minister for Women and Child Development, Sahaswati Hembram, today said when the Congress was preparing to face the polls with all its strength, it would be hard to comprehend a party without Sonia Gandhi's leadership.

Her resignation from the post of AICC chief had come as a terrible blow to the party, she said in a statement here.

After Gandhi took over the leadership it infused new life into the Congress and no party worker was prepared to accept her resignation, she said.

Hembram said that as many as four women had found place in the Congress Ministry in Orissa on her instructions, which was unique in the State's history.