Jammu, April 3 -- In her first response on the arrest of her chief minister and party leader, Atishi, a 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 is able to withstand this blow, and persev...