A leading national news agency, quoting its highly placed sources, reported today that Mr Rahul Gandhi, 41, presently the general secretary of the congress party, is likely to be appointed the working president of the party soon.

The agency said in its dispatch that Rahul may assume the role of working president on Dec 28, the 126th foundation day of the Indian National Congress or even before that.

The transition of party reins to the young leader is to help his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi who had returned three month ago from the US after surgery for a serious illness speculated to be cancer.

After the surgery, Sonia has reportedly decided to shed some of her responsibilities to Rahul with a view of limiting herself to policy matters alone.

Rahul Gandhi is presently general secretary of the party  in charge of youth and student wings. He is also a second-term Lok Sabha member from Amethi constituency in UP. The supporters of Rahul Gandhi have already demanded the party president Sonia Gandhi to appoint him as the working president and are hopeful of an announcement on Nov 14, birth anniversary of his great grandfather and India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru or Nov 19, the birth anniversary of his grandmother and the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Congress leaders however point out it can happen around Dec 28, the 126th foundation day of the Indian National Congress. They say that Rahul Gandhi has been already engaging himself in important party affairs and the governmental matters recently.

Several Congress leaders have been hailing Rahul as the future prime minister while the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has mentioned Rahul as a future leader.