Will Samrat Choudhary's Bihar remove liquor ban? Buzz intensifies

Is Bihar going to have a relook at its prohibition policy, brought in by former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar? The buzz that Bihar could allow liquor sales has intensified even as BJP's Samrat Choudhary took oath as the Chief Minister on Wednesday. Even before Choudhary took charge, calls to lift Bihar's liquor prohibition gained traction on the internet. This story is about the growing calls and the buzz, and there is no official reaction on the issue yet.

The buzz intensified after Mokama MLA Anant Singh, popularly known as "Bahubali", openly backed the move, telling reporters, "Liquor should be available again." Anant Singh also said that he would speak to the new CM on this issue. Samrat Choudhary, before becoming the CM, had acknowledged the hit to the government's earnings because of the prohibition. That is being seen by a section of the population as a sign that he might review the ban on liquor sales in Bihar. However, Choudhary had backed Nitish Kumar on prohibition, calling it one of the latter's most decisive actions.

Bihar is one of the newest states to declare itself dry. In 2016, Nitish Kumar imposed a total ban on the sale and consumption of all liquor in Bihar, eyeing women voters who complained of domestic violence and household money being spent by the menfolk to feed their addiction.

While the ban consolidated women voters for Nitish Kumar and his JD (U), the state saw the illicit sale of alcohol and hundreds dying in hooch tragedies. The state exchequer suffered even as smugglers made big money.

Business Today TV's Associate Editor Chetan Bhutani posted on X that he believed that the first Cabinet meeting of Samrat Choudhary would discuss and take a decision on revoking the liquor ban in Bihar.

WHY NITISH KUMAR IMPOSED BAN ON ALCOHOL IN BIHAR

The demand to revoke the ban on liquor is not new in Bihar. During the 2025 Assembly election, Jan Suraaj founder and former poll strategist Prashant Kishor had said that his party would abolish the alcohol ban "within minutes" of coming to power, and the RJD-Congress alliance manifesto had promised a rethink on the issue.

These demands resurfaced in Bihar as Nitish Kumar – the policy's strongest defender – resigned. Several critics accused that the implementation of the policy was not done systematically. They also said that this led to an increase in the black market for liquor.

In 2025, Prashant Kishor said, "Bihar incurs a loss of Rs 20,000 crore each year due to the liquor ban. For Bihar to achieve a world-class education system, an investment of Rs 5 lakh crore is required over the next 10 years. Once the liquor ban is lifted, that money will be dedicated solely to establishing a new education system in Bihar."

The ban in 2016 by Nitish Kumar was imposed on both country-made and Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL). This move was strongly supported by women and was viewed as a way to reduce domestic violence.

"Seeing the tremendous support from the people, particularly women and children, to the ban on country-made liquor in the State within just days of its prohibition, we decided to put a total ban on alcohol", Nitish Kumar said after imposing the ban.

SAMRAT CHOUDHARY'S SPOKE WITH FORKED TONGUE ON LIQUOR BAN

The newly crowned CM of Bihar, Samrat Choudhary, made several comments on the liquor ban issue. At times, he supported the removal of the liquor ban, citing the hit to the state's excise duty collection, while also backing Nitish Kumar's prohibition.

During the Bihar Assembly election campaign in 2025, Choudhary made a statement after he was asked by a journalist that prohibition was never strictly enforced in Bihar. He maintained that the policy had, in fact, brought peace to the state. He said it was in line with Mahatma Gandhi’s vision, adding that prohibition was perhaps the most significant decision of Nitish Kumar’s political career. Addressing concerns over lax enforcement, he remarked, "Who doesn’t steal? Let those who steal continue to steal," suggesting that violations were inevitable but did not undermine the larger goal.

He acknowledged that the policy cost the state nearly Rs 25,000 crore in revenue, yet insisted its social impact outweighed the losses. He further claimed that alcohol consumption had largely disappeared from public spaces, saying one would not find people drinking openly on the streets anymore. At the same time, he noted that there were no strict restrictions on private, indoor consumption, even if such instances still existed.

Choudhary had also said that the liquor ban was costing Bihar approximately Rs 28,000-30,000 crore annually, a loss in a state that doesn't even have 70,000 crore rupees in revenue.

"Even after these issues, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took the monumental decision in 2016 to ban liquor in Bihar. Even after the ban, the state functioned so well. If there is one historic decision in Nitish Kumar's life, it is prohibition," Choudhary said earlier.

In February 2026, an ally of the NDA in Bihar, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), urged the Bihar government to review its 10-year-old prohibition policy.

"The CM [Nitish Kumar] has taken many landmark decisions and has also reviewed some of them from time to time. The liquor ban is one such landmark decision. The time has come to review the liquor law. We have to assess if it is working or not," RLM MLA Madhav Anand said during an Assembly debate. Samrat Choudhary had downplayed the demand and said there was no question of recalling the liquor law.

With Samrat Choudhary being sworn in as the Chief Minister, there is a buzz and discussions if Bihar would review, and, ultimately lift the ban on sale of alcohol. But there is no clear intent shown by the ruling NDA and its new CM to revoke the ban.

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