New Delhi [India]: Chhattisgarh Finance Minister OP Choudhary has credited his success to the vision and strength of his mother, who, despite having studied only up to the fourth grade, played a pivotal role in shaping his life and career.
In an interview with media, Choudhary shared his inspiring journey from a village school student to a civil servant and now a state minister, highlighting how his mother’s encouragement helped him dream beyond his circumstances after the loss of his father at the age of eight.
“My life has been quite different since childhood. I lost my father when I was eight. My mother, though educated only up to the fourth grade, played the most important role in my life. I studied in village schools up to Class 12. Since my father held a government job, I was eligible for a compensatory appointment. But my mother, despite her limited education, told me not to settle for that small government job and to aim for something bigger and better in life,” Choudhary said.
Choudhary also recalled a defining moment in Class 11, when a visit to a district collector’s office inspired him to become an IAS officer.
“My mother supported me wholeheartedly, and today I feel that the decision I made in 2018—to step onto an uncertain path (of joining politics) instead of continuing the IAS—was a big move. But an even bigger step was when I chose to leave that secure government job opportunity right after Class 12 and move to Delhi to prepare for the IAS exam,” he added.
Now serving as the Finance Minister in Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai’s Cabinet, Choudhary was sworn in on December 22, 2023, following the BJP’s victory in 54 out of 90 seats in the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections.
He concluded with a message for youth across India:
“In today’s Rising India, if you have talent, there are hundreds of opportunities to succeed—not just professionally but financially as well.”