The Booze Ban Why It Won'T Work

Often politically expedient, the prohibition plank is looking creaky again, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s last stand not with standing.

- Sandeep Unnithan and Amitabh Srivastava

ON APRIL 5 THIS YEAR, BIHAR BECAME THE second largest state in India to impose total prohibition, after Gujarat. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s sudden announcement had surprised everyone as the new excise policy, notified in December 2015, had only spoken about a ban on country liquor. Indeed, on March 12 this year, liquor manufacturers had been issued fresh licences for new vends in urban areas. While Nitish ascribed his decision to the “overwhelming will of the people”, many linked it to his political goals to grow beyond Bihar. The speculation gained traction when, just a week later, he took over as national president of his party, the Janata Dal (United). The two developments, one administrative and the other political, were clearly part of a well-thought-out strategy for the 65-year-old politician who is fixated on emerging as an alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. The liquor ban could be his vehicle to Delhi.