Former IAS Officer Divya Mittal Launches Jan Neeti Bharat for 2027 UP Polls

Former IAS officer Divya Mittal announced the launch of Jan Neeti Bharat on Thursday (October 15, 2026), saying the party will contest the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections and make people central to policymaking.

In a video message on X, Mittal said the party would work to ensure that the government remained accountable to citizens throughout its five-year term, rather than only on election day.

“Politics rules over you. In Jan Neeti, you will be the ones who rule,” she said while announcing the party’s name and its decision to enter the state polls.

A party built around public accountability

Mittal said her earlier appeal to people to enter politics had received an overwhelming response, with many people sending messages to a phone number she had shared.

Explaining why she had chosen to form a new party, she said the problem was not the shortage of political parties but the failure to ensure that people were heard.

“The problem is not a shortage of parties; the problem is a lack of people being heard. Some people are heard, but not everyone,” she said.

She claimed that under the existing arrangement, legislators often act as intermediaries between the government and the public.

In contrast, representatives of Jan Neeti Bharat would be required to remain accountable to citizens, she said.

Mittal also said that necessary reforms had not been implemented because they threatened established power structures, rather than because of technological limitations.

“Political parties might appear to compete with one another, but agree on keeping decision-making out of the hands of ordinary people,” she said.

Door-to-door campaign planned

Mittal said Jan Neeti Bharat did not have the money required for extensive advertising.

The party will instead depend on a door-to-door campaign, with every household serving as an office and every supporter acting as a campaigner, she said.

She invited people to call her to their villages and towns and urged them to share her message with three people.

She also asked supporters to promote the slogan, “Not politics, but Jan Neeti”.

The announcement came over a month after Mittal opted for voluntary retirement from service.

She had announced her entry into politics on September 29, after resigning from the Indian Administrative Service following a 13-year career on August 30.

From administration to electoral politics

At the time of her resignation, Mittal was serving as the special secretary in the Revenue Department in Lucknow.

She had earlier served as the district magistrate in Deoria, Mirzapur and Sant Kabir Nagar.

Her administrative record has also shaped public recognition of her work.

During her tenure as Mirzapur district magistrate, tap water was brought to Lahuriadah, a remote hill village in Halia block, 75 years after independence.

Locals in Deoria remember her tenure for efforts to implement government schemes at the grassroots level and for decisive administrative actions.

Mittal is an alumna of IIT Delhi and IIM Bengaluru, and was formerly a Wall Street trader before her 13-year career in the IAS.

With Jan Neeti Bharat, she is now seeking to take her stated focus on public accountability from administration into electoral politics ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.

Source: The Hindu