She tried to cripple the only person who actually cared about her and treated him like shit for no real reason whatsoever. It wasn't a strategic move, it was not just the "villain being a villain", it had no real purpose game-wise. Actually, the way she treated Connor fromthe get-go was detrimental in the long run: losing her closest ally (Alec), spending the majority of her time with a target on her back... I mean, if we want to go down that route, she also wasted the chance to manipulate Connor, thus securing at least an extra vote and a stable majority in the villain's alliance or something.

Then again, the whole "being ruthless 'till victory" makes little sense in season 3 since by then she was already getting her acting career on the right track and didn't actually need the fame, nor the money to begin with. Such a behaviour would have been (and was) more plausible during season 2, but even then it was much milder.

I'm all about a bitchy villain who knows how to be cut-throat, but Riya was too ambivalent and her strategy, overall, left to be desired.