Former IAS officer Divya Mittal, who resigned from the Indian Administrative Service last month after a 13-year career, has announced her entry into politics, saying she will begin her political journey in Uttar Pradesh without joining any political party.
In a video message posted on X on Tuesday, the 2013-batch Uttar Pradesh-cadre officer said she wanted to enter politics by working directly with people and taking up their issues. The announcement comes nearly a month after Mittal announced her resignation from the IAS on August 30. Her resignation was accepted by the Uttar Pradesh government on September 15, ending her 13-year career in the civil services. She cleared the examination in her second attempt in 2013, securing the 68th rank, and joined the IAS.
“I will do politics, but not with any political party. She served as district magistrate in Sant Kabir Nagar, Mirzapur and Deoria and later held senior positions in the Uttar Pradesh government, including Special Secretary in the Revenue Department. In her resignation message, Mittal had reflected on her experiences working with farmers, families seeking land rights and people with disabilities. Mittal’s political plans had been a subject of speculation since she resigned from the IAS. Reports had subsequently discussed the possibility of her entering politics, particularly in areas where she had served as a district magistrate.
I will do politics with people,” Mittal said in the video message. She said Uttar Pradesh had been her “karmabhoomi” and that she would begin her political journey from the state. She also said she would “fearlessly struggle” for people’s problems while taking them along. She wrote that her administrative career had taught her that “behind every government file is a person”. At the time of her resignation, she did not disclose her next move and said she would speak when the time was right.
