The idea of Kejriwal

The 'idea' Kejriwal's politics grew around was a no-holds-barred fight against corruption. That is the reason the Modi govt has now tarred him and his entire party with the same paint

- SHEKHAR GUPTA

In her first response on the arrest of her chief minister and party leader, Atishi, La key minister in the Delhi government, said that Arvind Kejriwal isn't merely an individual. He is, instead, an idea.

It follows that she means his arrest, or temporary removal from the scene, won't mean a crippling blow to his politics, party or government.

That's a good and interesting point. Let us take it at face value to begin with. We will know in the next few days what it means for his party and the two state governments it runs, in Delhi and Punjab. The more important discussion, however, is the implications this will have for national politics.

Theoretically, if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is able to withstand this blow, and persevere till Mr Kejriwal is eventually released, it could stronger. Mr emerge Kejriwal could then return as a leader with his charisma burnished by time spent in the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) prison.

If your basic credibility remains intact, and your "base" is immune to corruption charges against you, spending some time in a rival government's jail never hurt an Indian politician. On the other hand, if your government flounders in your absence, your party lapses into disarray and is crippled further by defections-which the BJP will be working quite assiduously to bring about - it will send your politics into terminal decline.That's the juncture at which the party now stands.

If Mr Kejriwal is today an idea, the "idea" he and his politics grew around was a noholds-barred fight against corruption. That is the reason the Modi government has now tarred him, his entire party, and his government with the same brush: Corruption.