Why the NDA is keeping quiet on Bihar’s liquor ban
In contrast, the Opposition, led by Mahagathbandhan and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, has placed the controversial liquor ban at the very center of the electoral arena. Both have promised to review or even repeal the law, calling it a failed policy that hurts the poor more than helping society.
A law that NDA no longer wants to talk about
In the nine years since the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act came into force, the numbers tell a stark story: Of the 12.79 lakh people arrested, more than 85% belong to Scheduled Castes, Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), The Indian Express reported. These are exactly the social groups that form the core of Bihar’s voter base and the NDA knows this.
The ruling alliance, led by the JD(U)-BJP coalition, has remained conspicuously silent on the ban even though it has been the mainstay of Opposition attacks.
“NDA knows this will not help the alliance,” RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari said, according to Express. “Rather, it has become a noose around the NDA’s neck; Nitish can neither claim to have fully implemented the law nor lift the ban.”
However, JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar defended the Chief Minister’s decision. “Many reports show that the quality of life improved after the liquor ban. There may be some problems in implementation due to limited police personnel and the porous Indo-Nepal border… However, the benefits of the liquor ban are unquestionable,” he said, according to the same report.
Opposition’s word
In contrast, Mahagathbandhan’s 32-page manifesto promises a review of the ban law and an end to the toddy (tari) ban. He promises to release those imprisoned under the law and “provide immediate relief to Dalits and other poor people languishing in jail for violating the law.” Tejashwi Yadav, prime ministerial candidate of the INDIA bloc, added that the ban caused great job and income losses and said, “The communities that have been dealing with these businesses for generations have no other source of income.”
CPI (ML) Liberation, an important ally of the Mahagathbandhan, took the lead within the coalition. Speaking to ANI, its general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya reiterated that the alliance will “comprehensively review the ban on liquor” if voted to power.
But the loudest voice came from political strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor, whose Jan Suraaj Party has made the ban a cornerstone of its campaign. “I am not against the ethics of prohibition,” Kishor said. Indian Express. “But evidence-based policies around the world show that liquor prohibition is unworkable… Bihar’s liquor law is a complete failure, creating an illicit economy of Rs 20,000 million a year.”
Kishor has repeatedly said he would lift the ban “within 15 minutes” after coming to power.
The arc of Nitish’s ban
Ironically, Nitish Kumar, once seen as an advocate of pragmatic management, was the architect of Bihar’s prohibition policy. In 2015, Nitish, who scored a historic election victory in alliance with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD, announced the liquor ban and presented it as a “pro-women” and “moral” decision inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s views on moderation.
At the time, this move was politically strategic. He burnished Nitish’s ‘sushashan’ (good governance) image and countered Narendra Modi’s ‘vikas purush’ narrative. Women’s self-help groups under the JEEViKA program had long been demanding such a ban, blaming alcohol as the cause of domestic violence and household poverty.
The CM’s announcement was initially met with applause, especially among women in rural areas. A 2024 Lancet report even claimed that 21 lakh women in Bihar reported zero domestic violence after the ban; That’s a striking statistic for a state that once accounted for nearly 40% of such cases nationwide.
However, the political benefits of the policy were temporary. After Nitish rejoined the NDA in 2017, JD(U)’s influence began to wane. In the 2020 Assembly elections, the party’s seat count dropped from 71 to just 43; this was barely half that of the BJP.
Legal, social and economic impacts
What was framed as a moral crusade has since turned into a crisis of law enforcement and governance. Former Chief Justice of India NV Ramana in 2021 criticized the liquor law for “lacking administrative foresight” and said it had led to “clogging” of Bihar courts.
Changes followed: leniency for first-time offenders, community fines and even property seizure for repeat offenders. But enforcement remains patchy and the liquor black market is thriving; the “illegal economy”, pegged by experts and politicians at 20,000 million rupees annually.
The state has also faced repeated hooch tragedies that have claimed the lives of more than 300 people. Nitish’s infamous quotes — “Jo piyega, wow marega(Those who drink will die) – created anger. In 2023, he softened his stance and announced that compensation of Rs 4 lakh would be paid to the families of victims of such incidents since 2016.
Political Rope
Today, Nitish finds himself cornered by the contradictions of his own politics. Lifting the ban would alienate women, who are among its most loyal voters, while defending the ban risks alienating the backward classes and poor communities most affected by its implementation.
The political calculus for the NDA is simple: silence. The same silence is an opportunity for the opposition.
State BJP vice president Santosh Pathak downplayed the issue, saying, “The law has many positive aspects. Coming to Kishor’s approach on this issue, we do not take him seriously as a political player.”
But for millions of Biharis, from daily wage laborers imprisoned under the law to families torn apart by hooch tragedies, the ban remains a daily reality.
