India
Congress’s controversy queen Divya Spandana aka Ramya's name is doing the rounds for Bengaluru South Lok Sabha seat. The BJP has held the seat for the last four decades. The Congress leader M Krishnappa, who earlier confirmed that his son Priya Krishna was in the race, said he will support any candidate the party announces
Bengaluru: Former MP and the Congress social media head Divya Spandana aka Ramya may be fielded by the party from Bengaluru South constituency in next year’s Lok Sabha polls. The seat has been held by the BJP for the last four decades.
The late Ananth Kumar was elected six times from the Bengaluru South constituency. He passed away last month.
Despite the recent anger in the Congress and among the fans in Karnataka, the party is thinking of fielding former actress Ramya in next year’s elections, according to sources.
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Recently, Ramya was under fire for disrespecting her mentor and senior actor Ambareesh, who passed away. Ramya did not attend the actor-politician’s funeral and this led to a huge controversy. The Congress, however, defended her stating that she had fractured her leg and could barely walk.
Now, the Congress insiders say that Ramya being a Vokkaliga and also being active on social media can appeal to the people of Bengaluru, which is an Information Technology hub.
"The party had decided to give a push to Ramya by fielding her as an MP candidate in 2019, and after the results from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the instructions have come from the Central leaders that the state leaders should make preparation to re-launch Ramya," said a source.
The Congress leaders including M Krishnappa and housing minister UT Khader have said that any move that party makes now will be backed all. The minor differences will be ignored to win elections like the way the party did in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
"We were never aspirants at first place. Initially, the party leaders had decided to include my son Priya Krishna's name, and now if they want to include few more contenders, we will welcome it. For us, the party’s success is important. We will abide by the high command’s choice," said former minister Krishnappa.
Khader said Ramya’s candidature is an advantage for the Congress. "Ramya is definitely an advantage for the Congress, not only for Bengaluru South but for other Lok Sabha segments too," Khader opined.
However, the BJP leaders expressed doubt about such a move, calling it as disastrous.
Lashing out at Ramya's attitude of 'being arrogant', Ashwath Narayana, the BJP spokesperson said, "Nandan Nilekani (who lost in 2014 to Ananth Kumar) is thousand times a better choice than Ramya. As a leader, she should have been humble and approachable, which she is not."
Some of the BJP leaders said they will be very happy if Ramya contests from Bengaluru South as their job will become easier.
Despite several attempts to reach Ramya for her comments, she refused to answer our calls and she also did not reply to our text messages.
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