Ariyalur Assembly constituency is the headquarters of Ariyalur district. The seat has seen varied representation from both the DMK and AIADMK, as well as the Congress in earlier years. In the 2021 Assembly elections, K. Chinnappa (contesting on a DMK ticket/symbol) won the seat with 1,03,975 votes, defeating AIADMK’s sitting MLA S. Rajendran, who secured 100,741 votes. The margin of victory was tight at 3,234 votes. In the 2016 Assembly elections, AIADMK’s S. Rajendran won the seat with 88,520 votes, defeating DMK’s S. S. Sivasankar, who secured 86,477 votes. The margin of victory was a narrow 2,043 votes. In the 2011 Assembly elections, AIADMK’s Durai. Manivel won the seat with 88,726 votes, defeating INC’s D. Amaramoorthy, who secured 70,906 votes. The margin of victory stood at 17,820 votes.