Prominent south Indian actress Ramya, aka Divya Spandana, had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket, and had lost with merely 15,000-17,000 votes. He had been asking to meet Rahul Gandhi for a long time, but there was no reply for RG’s office. Disappointed, she spoke to a regional newspaper and said, “Our party may be in power in the state, but justice is not being done to our community (Vokkaliga). After this, the most prominent Vokkaliga leader H D Deve Gowda rushed to meet her and offer her to join his party – JDS. Ramya had also made up her mind to join Deve Gowda’s party, but the minute Priyanka Gandhi came to know about it, she immediately made a phone call to her and said, “Rahul ji is really busy with the UP election preparations. He wants to meet you as well, but it might take time. Please come to Delhi and meet me in the time being.” A few words by Priyanka had a miraculous effect, and Ramya changed her mind to leave the Congress. She called up Deve Gowda and told him, “You are like my father but I will make the decision about joining the party only in 2019.”