AMRITSAR, Aug. 9 -- Senior SGPC employee Bibi Satwant Kaur is set to be the new chief of the breakaway Akali Dal faction as former Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh on Friday said he is opting out of the race.

The Akal Takht-appointed panel, which was given the mandate to recast the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the December 2 decree, has scheduled the delegate session to elect new president and office bearers on August 11.

Kaur, part of the Takht panel and currently serving in a senior position in the SGPC's education wing, has strong panthic roots. She is the granddaughter of former Damdami Taksal chief Kartar Singh Bhindranwale.

Her father, Bhai Amrik Singh, president of the All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF), w...