After years of speaking for the party and against party strongman B.S. Yediyurappa, finally three-time MLA Arvind Bellad has something to be contented with. The Bharatiya Janata Party has appointed him as Deputy Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly.
Like the former Union Minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, he belongs to the demographically strong Lingayat Panchamasali community and along with Mr. Yatnal, he was up in arms against the former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa which ultimately resulted in Mr. Yediyurappa being unseated.
Although Mr. Bellad’s name as a youth leader too figured in the race for the Chief Minister’s post, the party yielded to pressure from the BJP strongman to choose Basavaraj Bommai, considered a confidante of Mr. Yediyurappa, for the Chief Minister’s post.
