Pachouri is one of the senior most former leaders of Indian National Congress and he entered politics as an
Indian Youth Congress worker in 1972. He was the General Secretary of the
Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress(I) from 1981 to 1983. He then became President of the Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress from 1984 to 1985. He was General Secretary of the
Indian Youth Congress from 1985 to 1988. He was first elected to the
Rajya Sabha in 1984 and re-elected in 1990, 1996 & 2002. He was the Minister of State in the
Ministry of Defence from 1995 to 1996. He was the Chairman of the Congress
Seva Dal. He was a Member of the Consultative Committee of the
Ministry of Home Affairs and Defence and was also nominated to the Panel of
Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha in 2000. He served as a
Minister of State in the
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and
Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs from 24 May 2004 – 6 April 2008. He was the President of the
Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee from 14 February 2008 – 5 April 2011. He has also served as the Convener of the Research and Coordination Department of the
All India Congress Committee. He joined
Bharatiya Janata Party on 9 March 2024. == Positions held ==