By India Today News Desk: Actor-politician Ramya, whose original name is Divya Spandana, at India Today’s Karnataka Roundtable 2023 said she and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi were in touch during her hiatus from the political scene and the ex-MP helped her pass through a difficult phase in life.

Ramya, a former MP from Mandya, has been missing in action since quitting her post of the Congress’s social media cell in-charge in 2019. Recently, she was named as one of the 40 star campaigners for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly election.

“The passing away of my father, on the day of me filing my nomination in 2013, was a low phase for me. I didn’t want to contest the elections. I didn’t get time to grieve. I was asking those existential questions. Later, when I lost the election, Rahul Gandhi and I exchanged contacts. He helped me pass through the difficult phase. I had lost hope in life. I contemplated the extreme. If not for him, I wouldn’t have been back now,” Ramya said at Karnataka Roundtable 2023.

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“I don’t think there needs to be any repackaging or selling for Rahul Gandhi. Despite being stripped off his MP status or his house, he is still talking about the Adani issue. It needs courage,” she added.

On the upcoming Karnataka polls, actor-politician Ramya said the BJP, which is the ruling party in the southern state, is on the backfoot.

“The local issues are important. The public care about local issues. I don’t think there is a wave anymore,” she said at India Today’s Karnataka Roundtable 2023.

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“Congress should continue to speak the truth. But they should also pick up local issues and talk about them. Many people may not resonate with issues like Rafale if you only keep talking about that,” she added.

“I think it’s too early. The last two days of elections will tell you which way it’s going. Congress is in a better position this time. People should vote in large numbers. We don’t want a hung house again and operation Kamala,” she further said.

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