UP IAS Officer Divya Mittal Resigns, Enters Politics

Divya Mittal, a 2013-batch IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh, announced her entry into politics nearly a month after taking voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service. In a social media post on Monday, the former officer stated she wanted to become the "voice" of people whose concerns often fail to reach government offices. She emphasized that she would not stand "under any flag" and sought public support for her political journey.

Mittal, an alumnus of IIT Delhi with an MBA from IIM Bangalore, previously worked as an exotic derivatives trader in London before joining civil services. During her tenure as district magistrate in Mirzapur, she worked to deliver piped water to Lahuria Dah village. She cited multiple instances of government failures—including sanctioned schools never constructed, leased land never handed over, poor roads, and examination paper leaks—as reasons for her political shift. Recalling an inspection in Lahuria Dah, Mittal described how a woman without a drinking water connection asked for a school rather than a pension, highlighting systemic issues in governance implementation.

Mittal stated that her objective is not to change individual leaders but to transform the nature of politics itself. She indicated her intention to pursue electoral politics independently, saying "Politics not with any party, but with the people," and ruled out joining any political party. She said supporters who backed her earlier would be part of her political endeavor.