There is nothing wrong in nursing an ambition especially for a political leader. As things stand now, the ambition of Kejriwal flows from his expansion mode mindset for himself and his party.

Kejriwal's confidence is born out of electoral success as both Congress and BJP have been decimated by AAP. His self belief and the faith in the party he has floated has been tempered by failure, a necessary ingredient to traverse a bumpy road and attain the status of a national party.

The last decade has witnessed unforeseen changes in Indian politics. Congress is diminishing, Bharatiya Janata Party is increasingly occupying centre stage in national politics and AAP a fledgling political outfit has grown beyond recognition in this time span.

Cynics and political observers had prophesied a brief life for AAP when it was born out of India Against Corruption movement. Comprising idealist professionals who had quit cushy jobs, it proved the sceptics wrong by defeating Congress in 2013 in Delhi Assembly elections.

Buoyed by maiden political success, Kejriwal took on none other BJP's prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi at Varanasi and tasted bitter defeat. The doubting Thomases were up and about classifying the AAP success to be of flash in the pan variety.

But AAP seems to have acquired a penchant of proving its detractors wrong. It came to power in 2015 and 2020 too and apart from Congress and BJP to be the ruling dispensation in two states Delhi and Punjab.

It is a paradoxical outfit having no seats in the Lok Sabha but with 10 Rajya Sabha members. AAP now has become the sixth national party, a decade after its formation.

Hairs may be split whether AAP's growth has been spasmodic or of a hop, skip and jump variety but the fact remains expansion path of parties of older vintage and comprising leaders enjoying veteran status in national politics have not gone beyond their home states.

Thus as far as expansion graph is concerned AAP is ahead of Rashtriya Janata Dal(RJD), Samajwadi Party (SP), JD(U), Telugu Desam and Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi. Small wonder, Kejriwal can afford to pat himself on his back. But instead of resting on his oars, he has stepped hard on the accelerator.

Speed breakers have come in the way of the arrests of two of AAP leaders, Satyendra Jain and Manish Sisodia. If the AAP chief can read the writing on the wall, apprehension has set in among AAP rank and file.

Kejriwal now has little option but to take the BJP head on. To do so, he has to do a tight rope walk carefully choosing friends from among his political rivals especially those belonging to the anti-BJP camp

Small wonder, smoking a peace pipe with Congress, the principal political opponent of BJP is no cakewalk for Kejriwal. After all, AAP made its debut in electoral politics trouncing the Congress.

The Surat court judgement whose fallout saw Rahul Gandhi leave the Parliament has let Kejriwal put his foot in a door which hitherto has been closed to him. He has criticised the judgement hammer and tongs.

As things stand now for the Congress it can ill afford to shut the door in the face of a rising leader like Kejriwal. For tactical reasons, Congress prizes AAP in the phalanx of a Third Front. But Congress is likely to cut loose AAP if there are two fronts. It has no reason for one more outfit staking claim in the pie of governance.

It will be no cakewalk for AAP as it pulls up its socks in its bid for power at the Centre or emerging as a key player in deciding the powers that be in the principal seat of power. Several hurdles lie ahead of it though it is not weighed down by weight of legacy and corruption charges like some of its fellow travellers and political opponents.

AAP is too strongly identified with Kejriwal and needs to enlist local leaders of substance in the states in which it wishes to make a more robust presence. If it indeed wishes to be a party with a difference then it urgently needs to bin the suggestion that governance in Punjab is run on Delhi's instructions; it is a far cry from decentralisation of power.

If founding members like Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and Ashutosh have left the party, the signs of erosion in AAP is widespread as Dharamvir Gandhi and Harinder Singh Khalsa, both Lok Sabha MPs from Punjab have added to this list. Kejriwal must introspect on the reasons behind the thinning of ranks of his party and if it his personality cult, he has to reinvent his image for the better.

It is time AAP build bridges with non-BJP parties. Mending fences with the Congress is a must in this regard. At the same time, AAP needs to realise the risk of being tainted by the deeds of its fellow travellers. But making more allies is essential as to play a bigger role acquiring greater traction is a must for AAP.

If AAP is travelling fast sans baggages of the past, its steps are unsteady owing to lack of a strong organisational structure. It also suffers from the lack of second rank leaders who can take over from Kejriwal.

Kejriwal's need for building a strong countrywide organisational structure is an essential prerequisite for the AAP's broader reachout. Replication of the Delhi model may have worked in Punjab but may not yield similar results elsewhere.

At a first glance, Kejriwal a young man in a hurry has reached a few goals making some long needed deliveries to the people. But he and AAP are yet to emerge as a national alternative to the parties it seeks to replace. (IPA Service)