Pathak entered politics as a student leader, becoming the vice-president of Lucknow University Students' Union in 1989 and president in 1990. Interestingly, it was chief minister Yogi Adityanath's bete noire and strongman Vinay Shankar Tiwari's son, Vinay Tiwari, who helped him gain popularity and win the university elections. Both were close friends and stayed together during their student life and early years of active politics.
