Himachal Pradesh Congress general secretary Arun Sharma joined the AAP in Delhi on Thursday, and claimed more leaders like him will join the ranks of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party in the coming days.
Mr Sharma claimed the Congress unit in Himachal Pradesh was riddled with "groupism", which was causing disappointment among several leaders of the party.
"Where there are four drivers, accidents are bound to happen. You cannot have four drivers running the party. They have started groupism. Everybody is competing with each other to form groups. This doesn't actually benefit the party. It's causing loss," Mr Sharma told a press conference at the AAP headquarters here.
"Today, I have come (to join AAP). Tomorrow, 10 more (leaders) like me will come (to join AAP). We all are fed up with the prevailing atmosphere in the Congress," he said, replying to a question why he quit the Congress.
Mr Sharma said he has joined the AAP along with his "friends and supporters", looking at the way the party's national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has worked in the national capital and has recently "brought an honest government in Punjab".
"Due to his work and policies, a change is taking place not just in Himachal Pradesh, but all over the country," he said, asserting that the AAP will get the people's mandate in the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections this year and form its government in the state.
Besides Arun Sharma, Indian National Trade Union Congress Kullu district general secretary Sanjay Sharma also joined the AAP.
They were officially inducted into the party by the AAP's Himachal Pradesh in-charge and Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain.
Addressing the press conference, Mr Jain said people of Himachal Pradesh have made up their minds to give their mandate to the AAP as the BJP and the Congress have done nothing for the masses during their regimes.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur is making announcements about new projects and schemes now when the five-year term of the BJP government is almost over, Mr Jain said.
"He should talk about what he has done in five years," the AAP leader said, asserting, "People (of Himachal Pradesh) have made up their minds to finish both the BJP and the Congress this time."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
