| 1977 |
Elected to 6th Lok Sabha |
| 1980-89 |
Member, Bihar Legislative Assembly (two terms) |
| Jan.-Nov. 1989 |
Leader of Opposition, Bihar Legislative Assembly;Chairman, Library Committee, Bihar Legislative Assembly |
|
;Convenor, Committee on Public Undertakings, Bihar Legislative Assembly;Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Information and Boradcasting;Leader, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Rajya Sabha;Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Rural Development;Member, Business Advisory Committee, Rajya Sabha;Member, Committee on Home Affairs |
| 1989 |
Re-elected to 9th Lok Sabha (2nd term) (upto April 1990) |
| 1990-95 |
Member, Bihar Legislative Council |
| Mar. 1990 - Jul. 1997 |
Chief Minister, Bihar |
| 1995-98 |
Member, Bihar Legislative Assembly (third term) |
| Jan. 1996- Jul. 1997 |
National President, Janata Dal |
| Jul. 1997 onwards |
National President, Rashtriya Janata Dal |
| 1998 |
Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (3rd term) |
| 1998-99 |
Member, General Purposes Committee, Lok Sabha;Member, Committee on Home Affairs and its Sub-Committee on Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme |
| Mar. 2000-Mar. 2002 |
Member, Bihar Legislative Assembly (fourth term) |
| Apr. 2002 |
Elected to Rajya Sabha;Member, General Purposes Committee, Rajya Sabha |
| 2004 |
Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha (4th term);Leader, Rashtriya Janata Dal Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha |
| 2004-2009 |
Member, General Purposes Committee |
| 23 May 2004 - 22 May 2009 |
Union Cabinet Minister, Railways |
| 2009 |
Re-elected to 15th Lok Sabha (5th term);Leader, Rashtriya Janata Dal Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha |
| 31 Aug. 2009 |
Member, Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, Lok Sabha |