He is one of the shrewdest politicians around and is heartless, critics say of Janata Dal-Secular chief H D Deve Gowda.

But when it comes to his role as father, there are several tales of the love and affection he showers on his children.

His love for his sons and him going all out to ensure that his sons get the best deal -- be it in politics or in life -- has also angered several senior leaders in the party, who eventually have severed ties with the man.

Gowda spent a tense three hours when his son and former Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy was being operated upon two days back.

Party workers who sat alongside Gowda told rediff.com that the man did not talk a word throughout the cardiac operation which lasted almost three hours.

When Kumaraswamy was being taken into the operation theatre, Gowda refused to even look at his son. JD-S workers and well wishers said he could not bear to see his son being wheeled into the operation theatre as he would have broken down. He intentionally arrived late to the hospital and headed straight to the fourth floor where the operation took place.

All through the operation, he sat by himself in a corner. He looked tense, but then a smile broke out when the doctors came out and informed him that all was well and the operation had gone off successfully.

The last time Gowda was seen sulking so badly was when he lost his mother ten years ago and also when miscreants threw acid on his wife Chennamma.