Ariyalur
Ariyalur 2026: AIADMK's Rajendran reclaims fossil-country seat by 24,498
AIADMK's S. Rajendran retook Ariyalur with 95,219 votes, defeating DMK's Latha Balu by 24,498 votes. Rajendran, who had won the seat for AIADMK in 2016 by just 2,043 votes and lost it to MDMK's K. Chinnappa on a DMK symbol in 2021, returns to the assembly with a margin nearly twelve times his 2016 winning gap.
Top 5 candidates
| # | Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RAJENDRAN S | AIADMK | 95,219 | 40.70% |
| 2 | LATHA BALU | DMK | 70,721 | 30.23% |
| 3 | SIVAKUMAR M | TVK | 57,359 | 24.52% |
| 4 | PUGAZHENDHI D | NTK | 8,527 | 3.64% |
| 5 | JOTHIBASU K | IND | 691 | 0.30% |
Postal ballot breakdown
| # | Candidate | Party | Postal votes | EVM votes | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RAJENDRAN S | AIADMK | 751 | 94,468 | 95,219 |
| 2 | LATHA BALU | DMK | 629 | 70,092 | 70,721 |
| 3 | SIVAKUMAR M | TVK | 358 | 57,001 | 57,359 |
| 4 | PUGAZHENDHI D | NTK | 102 | 8,425 | 8,527 |
| 5 | NOTA | NOTA | 8 | 633 | 641 |
Source: Election Commission of India · Form 20 data via results.eci.gov.in
Past results
Verified winners and runners-up across the last five elections, with the major alliance partners each side fielded.
K. Chinnappa contested 2021 on the DMK Rising Sun symbol as an MDMK ally; counted as DMK alliance.
About Ariyalur
Ariyalur is the headquarters seat of Ariyalur district, the cement and limestone heartland of central Tamil Nadu. The constituency covers Ariyalur town, the cement plants at Sendurai and Reddipalayam, and the fossil-rich beds at Karai-Kulakkalnattam that geologists rate among the most important Cretaceous outcrops in India. The district was carved out of Perambalur in 2007. AIADMK's P. Elavazhagan won here in 2001, INC's D. Amaramoorthy in 2006, AIADMK's Durai Manivel in 2011 and S. Rajendran in 2016, before MDMK's K. Chinnappa took it on a DMK symbol in 2021. The seat is part of the Chidambaram Lok Sabha constituency.
Ariyalur fossil beds and the cement belt
Ariyalur's Karai-Kulakkalnattam fossil beds preserve marine life from the Cretaceous, and the National Fossil Wood Park at Sathanur sits within easy reach. An hour east stands Gangaikondacholapuram, Rajendra Chola's eleventh-century capital and a UNESCO Great Living Chola Temple, with its sweeping Brihadeeswarar shrine and the Cholagangam tank.
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