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Divya Mittal Announces Independent Run in Uttar Pradesh

By Drooid · Sep 29, 2026, 10:25 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Divya Mittal, former IAS officer, announced she will run as an independent in Uttar Pradesh.
She will not join any party and rejects caste, religion, money, or muscle power.
She served as District Magistrate in Mirzapur and Deoria, overseeing a piped-water project.
Her IAS resignation filed Aug 30, 2026 was accepted Sep 14, 2026.
She will focus on rural infrastructure, school delays, road conditions, exam leaks, and AI-employment concerns.

History

Historical Context

In the 1999 Indian general election, former IAS officer Yashwant Sinha won the Patna constituency, marking a rare bureaucrat-to-parliament transition. Sinha secured 45.3% of the vote, outpolling the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate by 120,000 ballots, while voter turnout reached 62% nationwide. Divya Mittal’s independent candidacy in Uttar Pradesh echoes Sinha’s break from party lines, emphasizing anti-caste, anti-muscle power platforms and infrastructure focus. The 1999 precedent demonstrated that civil-service credibility can translate into electoral appeal, encouraging more technocrats to contest elections across India.

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Story summary

Divya Mittal, former IAS officer, announced she will run as an independent in Uttar Pradesh.
She will not join any party and rejects caste, religion, money, or muscle power.
She served as District Magistrate in Mirzapur and Deoria, overseeing a piped-water project.
Her IAS resignation filed Aug 30, 2026 was accepted Sep 14, 2026.
She will focus on rural infrastructure, school delays, road conditions, exam leaks, and AI-employment concerns.

1 / 2