New Delhi, Sept 4: Congress president Rahul Gandhi is reportedly in touch with Harvard University professor Steve Jarding, an expert in public policy and political consultant, to rope him as the party's key strategist for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

According to Republic World, the Gandhi scion held a quickly arranged meet with Harding on the sidelines of his London visit last month. During the meeting, they briefly discussed the nodalities of a tie-up between them for 2019, the report said citing sources.

The Congress is yet to issue a statement on reports claiming the party's potential collaboration with Jarding's SJB Strategies International, which caters to an array of clients in the political realm.

Notably, this would not be Jarding's first political venture in India. In 2017, the Harvard professor had tied up with then UP CM Akhilesh Yadav who was seeking another term in the state for the Samajwadi Party. However, Jarding's campaign proved to be a flop as the party performed its worst in the last three decades, winning only 48 seats.

Pollsters claimed the prime challenge for Jarding will be to project Rahul Gandhi as a key contender in the frame. Although backed by a major portion of his party, the Congress chief is yet to receive formal approval from like-minded parties and coalition partners in the UPA.

The Congress is yet to react on its purported tie-up with Jarding. The party had recently faced flak after the BJP alleged that it had considered to rope in Alexander Nix, the chief of disgraced data harvesting firm Cambridge Analytica, as its chief poll strategist.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 04, 2018 05:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).