Patiala, Jun 01: Apparently as part of moves to hasten the unity between the two major Akali Dal factions in Punjab, senior BJP leader and Union Minister of State for Home I D Swami today met ailing Sarv Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD) chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra at a hospital here. Besides inquiring about the health of Tohra, who recently suffered a heart attack, Swami held consultations on unity moves between the SHSAD chief and SAD president Parkash Singh Badal, sources said.

They said formal unity between the two Akali factions would be announced in mid-June after Badal's appearance at Akal Takht, the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.

Bureau Report