Nearly a month after resigning from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), former Uttar Pradesh-cadre officer Divya Mittal on Tuesday announced her entry into politics, but ruled out joining any political party.
In a video message on X, Mittal said she would begin her political journey in Uttar Pradesh and strive to become the voice of people whose grievances often fail to reach government offices.
“I want to be the voice of those people whose voices cannot reach any office and, even if they do, are not heard,” she said, adding that she would seek an account of the country’s 80 years since Independence.
Mittal’s decision to enter Uttar Pradesh politics comes months ahead of the crucial Assembly elections. She said she would not enter politics under the banner of any existing political party. Instead, she plans to build a platform with citizens who support her and said she would not be deterred by money, muscle power, or caste and religious considerations.
"Today, there is everything in our politics, there is power, there is noise, but there is no thinking. I want an account of that lack of thinking," she said.
Mittal described Uttar Pradesh as her “karmabhoomi” and said people in the state had supported her during her administrative career. “I came here as an officer, but the people here made me their daughter,” she said.
A 2013-batch IAS officer, Mittal resigned on August 30 after a 13-year career. She was serving as special secretary in the Revenue Department in Lucknow when she tendered her resignation.
She had earlier served as the district magistrate of Deoria, Mirzapur and Sant Kabir Nagar.
In her 9-minute video message, Mittal said she believed change was possible in the country and argued that Uttar Pradesh had historically played an important role in India’s journey.
Mittal cited several instances of alleged administrative apathy and said she wanted to raise questions about such cases.
“The objective is not only to change one politician; politics has to change,” she said.
