Javadekar was elected to the upper house Rajya Sabha as a Member of Parliament from Maharashtra in 2008, and re-elected from Madhya Pradesh in 2014.

Active in politics since his college days, Javadekar was a member of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student organization.

During the Emergency declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi between 1975 and 1977, Javadekar participated in student movements against the government.

In 1989, he was appointed State Secretary and Campaign Chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, a position he held till 1995.

He also occupied the positions of the Executive President of the State Planning Board and Chairman of the Task Force on IT in the Government of Maharashtra.

Javadekar was appointed as the Human Resource and Development Minister of India on 5 July 2016 and held the post until 30 May 2019 when he was succeeded by Ramesh Pokhriyal.

On 31 May 2012, based on Javadekar's complaints about various irregularities in coal mining, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) directed a CBI enquiry.

"[11][12] Javdekar's ministry conducts a common admission process for national institutes via the Joint Seat Allocation Authority.