Active in politics since his college days, Javadekar was a member of ABVP, the student union. During the Emergency declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi between 1975–77, Javadekar participated in student movements against the government. During this period, he led a satyagraha non-violent movement in Pune and was arrested for several months. From 1984-1990, he was a National Secretary and then General Secretary in the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. In 1989, he was appointed State Secretary and Campaign Chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, a position he held till 1995. Javadekar was elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council between 1990 and 2002. He also occupied the positions of the ExecutivePresident of the State Planning Board and then Chairman of the Task Force on IT in the Government of Maharashtra. In 2008, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha as a Member of Parliament from Maharashtra. He was re-elected from Madhya Pradesh in 2014. Following the victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the 2014 Indian General Election, he was appointed Minister State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also appointed as a Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs. He led the Indian delegation to the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference. Between May to November 2014, he was also Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting. After taking charge of his ministry, Javadekar notably said that “the media itself suffices for self-regulation. Institutions are important for the functioning of democracy and priorities would be worked out after due consultation with the stakeholders”. Javadekar is now the Human Resource and Development Minister of India and also a veteran spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Before becoming a National Spokesperson, he was also a Spokesperson for the Maharashtra BJP. He has also previously in-charge of the BJP's Economic Forum and Cells related to the economy. On 31 May 2012, based on Javadekar's complaints about various irregularities in coal mining, the Central Vigilance Commission directed a CBI enquiry. He said,"We have made a formal complaint to CVC because there were so many glaring lacunae which needed to be probed. If the inquiry has been ordered, it's good." Javdekar's ministry conducts a common admission process for national institutes via the Joint Seat Allocation Authority. In 2016 more than 3000 seats were still vacant in the 92 institutes involved in the system, leading to calls for a further round of placements to fill the vacancies. To date the ministry has refused to conduct a "spot round" of further placements. In May 2019, he became the Cabinet Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Information and Broadcasting.
Personal life
His wife Dr. Prachee Javadekar is an education researcher and consultant and is a former Director of Indira Institute of Management, Pune. He has two sons: Dr. Ashutosh Javadekar who is a dentist and an artist, and Apoorva Javadekar, who is Assistant Professor of Finance at Indian School of Business.
Chairman, TASK FORCE ON IT, Government of Maharashtra
President, GLOBE India
Books published
In Marathi:
Bekaricha Jwalamukhi, 1986,
Nanenidhiche Karz, 1987
Shetkaryanchi Karzmukti, 1988
Mahagaicha Bhasmasoor, 1999 and 2010
Presented over 300 articles in various newspapers on contemporary subjects; has also written many booklets on unemployment, inflation, IMF loan and other political issues