Puri, who was the Computer and Research Department head of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, was reportedly unhappy over being denied a ticket for the upcoming assembly elections from the Janakpuri constituency.
He formally joined AAP, along with Delhi Mahila Congress secretary Neena Kapoor, during a press conference here today. One councillor each from the Bharatiya Janata Party and Bahujan Samaj Party joined the party as well.
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh welcomed the leaders into the party fold by presenting them with the trademark party cap.
"There's a groundswell for the party at the moment. The gap between AAP and BJP in terms of support has never been more. People are choosing the party over the others in large numbers," Singh said.
Puri, who earlier had decided to contest the upcoming polls as an Independent, attributed his move of joining AAP to the Congress's "incompetence".
"They have failed in every sphere. It's not about being refused a ticket. They failed to bring down power tariff. Prices of essential items skyrocketed when the party was at the helm," he told reporters.
The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee website at http://www.dpcc.co.in/ as well as the online edition of Congress Sandesh (www.congressandesh.com) is offline at the moment following Puri's exit from the party.
Puri was National Students' Union of India’s national president and Youth Congress secretary and a member of the party for 30 years.