Former IAS officer Divya Mittal, who quit the Uttar Pradesh cadre after 13 years in administration, today announced that she will enter politics in the state and will begin her career without joining a political party.In a video released on Tuesday, Mittal, who belongs to Haryana’s Rewari, said she would remain in Uttar Pradesh, “not be afraid” and will question the system.Asking people to support her she said she wanted to become “the voice” of people whose concerns often go unheard.The announcement gives a political direction to a resignation that had triggered speculation since August 30.Her resignation was formally accepted in September, ending her administrative career.Mittal, who served as district magistrate in Mirzapur and Deoria, is now seeking to turn her experience of dealing with public grievances into a political platform.Rather than announcing an association with an existing party, she has said she wants to work with citizens and build a platform around their questions and problems.Her pitch is centred on issues with a direct bearing on everyday life: schools, roads, farmers, unemployment and paper leaks. She has also questioned the role of money, caste and muscle power in electoral politics, saying she does not want such backing and instead wants public support.That makes her move significant beyond the familiar phenomenon of bureaucrats entering politics.Mittal has rejected allegations that she had been meeting political leaders secretly and has released a WhatsApp contact number, asking people to connect with her.Mittal’s next challenge will be translating that public-facing administrative identity into an organisation capable of sustaining a political movement without the machinery of an established party.She had earlier run into trouble with several BJP leaders who questioned her style of working and accused her of overstepping the brief.