The new climate of shifting loyalties in Tamil Nadu politics in the wake of the fractured mandate in the 2026 Assembly elections finds a resonance in Illathavarakal, the novella by Jayakanthan, in which the protagonist, Tony alias Duraisamy, becomes a victim of his leader’s political defection and is driven to murder.

Tony, an ordinary party cadre from the slums of Chennai, is enraged after his party’s flag is taken down and replaced with that of another party following his leader’s switch in allegiance. Carrying a penknife and egged on by his friends, Tony creates a ruckus on the streets and clashes with the rival camp, culminating in a murder.

In his preface to the story, Jayakanthan writes that the ravaging group has a fort, followers and a flagpost, but no flag. “The flag is more tarnished than the G-string of a leper,” he writes.

“Daai!” shouts Tony, a puny man from Ponnagaram who is not yet 25 and has already entered police records. Holding up his lungi with one hand above his head, he brandishes a small knife with the other, exposing his underwear and parts that ought to remain covered. A small band of followers trails behind him.

A crowd gathers.

“Come quickly. There’s going to be a murder today.”

“Not a murder. A fight over the party flag. They changed the party flag last night. Tony is rushing to cut it down.”

The flagpost stands at a junction linking Ponnagaram and the flyover. It was erected in memory of a language martyr. Ironically, the leader who was a minister when the flagpost was erected later lost the election, defected to another party and offered unconditional support to it, despite not being given any position. But what justification could there be for changing the party flag?

Tony had been drinking arrack with his friends and furiously discussing the issue. It was then that his friend Kapali provoked him.

“Thambi, don’t get agitated. Politics is not for ordinary people. If the leader changes parties, we should change too.”

“Get lost, Bemani,” Tony says, roaring like a tiger as he grabs Kapali by the shirt.

“Thoo! Gone are the days when politics was the privilege of bigwigs. Now it has reached the hands of ordinary men. Anyone may join another party. But as long as Tony is alive, this flag will remain,” he says, thumping his chest.

“Ithaa, Bemani! If you are a real hero, risk your life for it. If you remove the flag, you’ll be the Pistha. They changed the flag last night,” Kapali goads him further.

Tony is puny and could easily be restrained. But people scatter because he is carrying a weapon. He laughs at their fear.

However, he develops cold feet when another gang rushes to the spot hurling soda bottles. Tony thinks of running away, but his companions spur him on.

“Vaathiyare, hit them! Tony is a hero,” they shout.

The two gangs clash and one man is stabbed. The police arrive in time and the crowd quickly disperses. The victim is rushed to hospital in an ambulance. Tony goes into hiding. When he learns that the stabbed man is still alive, he regains confidence. But in the end, the victim dies and Tony is arrested.

Jayakanthan writes that the poor, who become victims of politicians’ machinations, live with hungry stomachs, stoves that rarely burn and huts without roofs. “This is the background of my story,” he writes.