[1] In 1931 Vythilingam was elected to the 1st State Council of Ceylon, representing Talawakelle.
[2][3] At the 1936 State Council elections Vythilingam was re-elected, as the representative for Talawakelle, unopposed to the 2nd State Council of Ceylon.
[2][4] In 1952 Vythilingam was appointed, by Governor-General Viscount Soulbury on the recommendation of Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake, to the second parliament to represent the Ceylonese Indians.
[5] Vythilingam was a long-standing hill country Tamil loyalist of the United National Party.
[6] His appointment was strongly opposed by the Ceylon Indian Congress who believed that the Congress was more representative of the Indian community in Ceylon than a single individual.