Bengaluru: Lord Rama, the hero of the epic Ramayana, is revered by many for his phenomenal traits.

Just like him, his foremost devotee, Hanuman too is revered by many for his unflinching devotion and his wonderful sagacity.

Talking of Ramayana and keeping our focus on Karnataka politics, former chief minister Siddaramaiah and Hoskote Congress MLA MTB Nagaraj share, rather shared a similar relationship.

A few months ago, Nagaraj openly declared his love for Siddaramaiah thus: “If Hanuman ripped open his heart, he would hear the name Rama coming out from his heart. And if you rip open my heart, you will find none else but Siddaramaiah in it.”

That was, as we said, a few months ago. But cut to the present rebellion in the Congress and you will find an entirely contradictory picture. The same Nagaraj who was full of praise for Siddarmaiah has turned his antagonist.

Speaking to a local TV channel, he said, “Yes, a few months ago, I did say he was in my heart. But now, he is not anymore. If you rip open my heart, you will find God and no one else. Moreover, I have not called him from Mumbai.”

But why this change in stance?

It’s no secret that Nagaraj didn’t like HD Kumaraswamy as the chief minister. When he put in his papers, along with Sudhakar, the Chikkaballapur Congress MLA, he was fed up of the turmoil.

Yet, with persistence as the defining factor, DK Shivakumar, the Congress MLA from Satanur, went to his house in the dead of night, had a chat with him, and convinced him to meet Siddaramaiah the next day.

Both Siddaramaiah and Nagaraj had a long chat and latter even appeared before the media, saying he would withdraw his resignation. But the next day, he flew to Mumbai to be with the other rebel MLAs.

Sources tell us that Nagaraj was not happy with Siddaramaiah’s promise of looking into his grouses and hence, he did a flip-flop.

Indeed, Siddaramaiah, who was once a hero to Nagaraj, is now his villain.