One thing that Kapil Mishra and Arvind Kejriwal must do right away
Kapil Mishra's allegations against his one-time friend and political associate could not have come at a more inopportune moment for the embattled Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM and AAP chief.
It is also ironical that Mishra has chosen to attack Kejriwal in the same allege-and-scoot style that the Delhi CM had used all along against his political adversaries.
The allegations, unless they are quickly proven wrong, could blow a huge hole in the moral high ground that Kejriwal has sought to occupy as a crusader against corruption.
Predictably, the AAP has protested its leader's innocence, but it is incumbent upon Kejriwal to immediately prove his bona fides so as to ensure that the taint does not stick.
Equally, Mishra must provide incontrovertible evidence to prove the allegations of corruption that he has made against the Delhi CM, or else he should be held accountable before the law.
AAP and Kejriwal cannot adopt an ostrich-like attitude and Mishra needs to make good on his allegations. Failure on the part of either of the two will be politically fatal for both.
The AAP has been lurching from crisis to crisis in the last few weeks. Barely had the CM and his associates doused the bush fires raised by Kumar Vishwas came the Mishra bombshell.
All this points to the heartburn and churning that is currently under way within the AAP.
Kejriwal has so far ruled over his party with a firm grip, and has not been shy to show the likes of Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav the door for questioning him, or for trying to get him to change his style of functioning.
In Vishwa's case he had to eat humble pie and walked the extra mile to placate the resident bard of the party. He may choose to act against Mishra, be that as it may, but he needs to not just prove that he is chaste like Caesar's wife but also needs to undertake a major course correction.
Kejriwal still has more than half his term left - he must get out of crusader mode and begin governing and he needs to become a lot more democratic. Failure to do so will not only play into the hands of his opponents but also endanger the future of his party.