New Delhi: Former IAS officer Divya Mittal on Thursday launched her own political outfit, the Janniti Bharat Party, and announced that she would contest the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, promising a model of governance in which people would have a greater say in policymaking and hold the government accountable for its work.
In an eight-minute video message shared on X, Mittal, who resigned from the civil services and announced her entry into politics in September, said she decided to form a new party because the problem was not a lack of political outfits but a lack of willingness to listen to people. She noted that politics usually rules the public, but her platform aims to ensure that citizens rule instead.
Mittal outlined three core promises for her party, stating that its first priority would be to put people at the centre of policymaking, where citizens determine their needs and experts help find solutions. She argued that everyday experiences and grassroots challenges should inform government policies regarding agriculture, small businesses, and community needs.
The second promise focuses on making decisions according to people's needs rather than their identities, emphasizing that caste, religion, or status would not dictate public welfare projects. She suggested utilizing a mobile application to let citizens participate in local infrastructure mapping and allow women to flag unsafe locations so authorities can prioritize security measures.
The third pledge centers on transparency and accountability, proposing digital systems where citizens can track local development projects, infrastructure progress, and the performance of public institutions like schools and hospitals in real time.
Before launching her party, Mittal had declined to join existing political formations despite expressions of interest from figures in the Samajwadi Party and the Uttar Pradesh Congress. A 2013-batch IAS officer and alumna of IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore, Mittal ended her 13-year civil service career on August 30, having previously served as district magistrate in Mirzapur, Deoria, and Sant Kabir Nagar.