After over two months of feigned anger against his son, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda is increasingly showing that blood is always thicker than secular ideology.

Gowda, who has publicly been on the sulk since his son dumped their Janata Dal Secular party’s secular ideology to ally with the BJP to storm to power in Karnataka, is increasingly behaving like a proud father of the CM rather than a hurt one.

The father and son have been meeting secretly while continuing to put up a public show of estrangement. The first signs that the father was back in control of the JDS came during the nominations for the Rajya Sabha seats, where Kumaraswamy and his ‘rebel’ MLA faction rallied behind Gowda nominated candidate M Rajashekhar Murthy.

Gowda on March 19 acknowledged publicly for the first time that he was quite happy with his son’s

six-week performance as Chief Minister.

‘‘I am satisfied with the way my son has been working. I have advised him not to lose his temper under any circumstance,’’ Gowda stated. Gowda followed this up on Monday by approving Kumaraswamy as the leader of the JDS Legislature Party while appointing senior leader M P Prakash as the party’s state unit president.

Gowda had initially resigned as the party’s national president after his son allied with the BJP but later reconsidered and withdrew his resignation. Gowda said Kumaraswamy had now been authorised to propose a deputy leader, a secretary and other office-bearers for the legislature party.

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