Amritsar, Aug. 12 -- Former Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh was unanimously elected as the president of the breakaway faction of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in a meeting of the delegate session held in Amritsar on Monday, a move that formalised another split in the 104-year-old 'panthic' party.

Bibi Satwant Kaur was elected as chairperson of the 'panthic' council of the faction. The Akal Takht-appointed committee held the delegate session of the breakaway group of the SAD at Gurdwara Burj Akali Phoola Singh in Amritsar. More than 500 delegates attended the meeting.

Calling their faction as the "real" SAD, the rebel Akali leaders dubbed the Sukhbir Singh Badal-led outfit as the "bhagora dal", which defied the Akal Takht...