[2] During his fourteen-year tenure, Chaudhary represented portions of Anoka and Ramsey counties in the northern Minneapolis and St Paul metropolitan area.
[8] In the summer and fall of 1989, while still a college student, Chaudhary served as Special Assistant to Hubert H. (Skip) Humphrey III.
[4] Before Chaudhary's 1991 return to the United States from Great Britain, he traveled extensively in India, South Africa, and Namibia.
He received the Governor’s Certificate of Commendation for his work with the Legal Aid Society in Minneapolis and was an author for the Journal of Global Trade.
Just two weeks out of law school, Chaudhary ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives in the July 1995 special election for the District 52A legislative seat, in a Minneapolis suburban area that includes parts of Fridley and New Brighton and all of Columbia Heights and Hilltop.
[8] Chaudhary also worked closely in his first legislative months with Minnesota's Asian community, and on public safety issues, particularly DWI penalties and youth driving regulations.
Chaudhary received the nomination from the local Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party chapter and ran against Republican Daniel Coughlin in the November general election.
[17][18] In January 2006 Chaudhary worked with labor unions to ask then-Governor Tim Pawlenty to step in and help to save jobs of 12,3000 Minnesotans employed by Northwest Airlines.
The bankrupt carrier proposed outsourcing about a quarter of the jobs left at the airline, and wrap up its drive for $1.4 billion in annual wage and other givebacks from its employees.
[20] Chaudhary, who had just voted against a ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage, had received a letter containing a picture of himself with a bullet hole through his forehead.
The picture was attached to a newspaper ad run promoting the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and civil unions.
Upon his victory the Republican opponent, Rae Hart Anderson, sent Chaudhary a concession email that said, "The race of your life is more important than this one--and it is my sincere wish that you'll get to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
In October 2007 Chaudhary was chosen as a delegate to accompany Governor Tim Pawlenty on a Minnesota/India trade mission, along with numerous business executives from Minnesota-based firms.
[23] On November 24, 2007 the Obama administration invited Chaudhary to attend a White House dinner honoring India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
[27] In 2009 Senator Chaudhary and his wife were nominated for Outstanding Conservationists Award by Anoka Conservation District at the MASWCD Annual Meetings and Trade show for their efforts to deal with wetland damage near their Fridley, Minnesota home.
On his first election night victory to the Minnesota legislature, at a celebratory event Chaudhary was told by an inner-city DFL House-member to "get a nickname" easier for people to pronounce.
[29] The Nehru jacket is considered formal dress in the South Asian culture, and in keeping with the traditions of appropriate legislative attire.
Chaudhary disclosed to members of the committee crafting the bill’s final language, that his family owns a cabin on leased land on the lake.
On July 8, 2010 the Duluth News Tribune reported that Chaudhary and his wife owed the IRS 2007 and 2008 past-due personal income taxes.
[36][37] In response, Chaudhary stated the debt was incurred due to an exercise of stock options with his wife's employer, the couple had an existing IRS payment plan and was never delinquent in paying, and the amount owed had just been determined in late 2009.
After his primary defeat, Chaudhary announced that he would continue his involvement with outdoors issues and return to private law practice full-time.
"[44] In March 2021 Chaudhary was invited to testify before a United Nations panel focusing on human rights violations in China.