Among the major promises made by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav ahead of the Bihar elections is a plan to exempt toddy—a traditional palm-based liquor—from the state’s total prohibition law enforced since 2016. Speaking at a gathering of the Pasi community in Patna, Tejashwi said that as deputy chief minister in the earlier Mahagathbandhan government, he had urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to exclude toddy from the liquor category since it is the livelihood of the Pasi community, who have tapped palm and date trees for generations. However, he added, Nitish did not agree, and this time the exemption has been formally included in the RJD’s election manifesto. The move marks a partial rollback of Bihar’s stringent liquor prohibition, even as Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party has gone a step further, promising a complete repeal of the ban if elected, arguing that it has failed in practice and could instead generate up to ₹28,000 crore in annual revenue if regulated. The liquor ban, introduced in April 2016 under the Nitish-led JDU-RJD-Congress alliance, prohibits the sale and consumption of all alcohol, including toddy. While initially supported across party lines, critics—especially from the RJD and BJP—warned that banning toddy would severely hurt the Pasi community’s income. Nitish Kumar has consistently defended the ban as a women-centric reform, claiming that it protects families from alcohol abuse and citing data on liquor and drug seizures as proof of its success. Yet, frequent hooch tragedies and the thriving black market for alcohol have raised questions about its effectiveness. Within the ruling NDA too, opinions are divided. HAM(S) chief and Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi recently demanded a review of the policy, saying its enforcement disproportionately penalizes the poor while letting wealthy smugglers escape. LJP(RV) leader Chirag Paswan echoed this, describing toddy as a “natural product” that should not be treated as liquor. The RJD, while cautious, has criticized the ban as a “failure of governance” responsible for revenue loss, corruption, and illegal trade, and now seeks a middle path by advocating only a partial relaxation. Political observers also view this as part of Tejashwi Yadav’s caste outreach strategy, aimed at appealing to the Mahadalit Pasi community. During his tenure as chief minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav had similarly waived tax on toddy. Although the Pasis make up less than one percent of Bihar’s population, their inclusion in the Mahadalit category gives the issue symbolic and electoral weight. Beyond Bihar, the debate touches a broader question—do liquor bans actually work? A 2024 study in The Lancet found that Bihar’s prohibition reduced alcohol use and domestic violence but also suggested unintended consequences such as increased black-market activity and strained policing resources. Similar bans in Gujarat and Mizoram have faced challenges with enforcement, while international experiences—from the United States’ 1920s Prohibition era to strict bans in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan—show that outright bans often fuel illicit trade rather than ending alcohol consumption. As Bihar heads toward elections, the toddy exemption promise revives a complex moral, social, and economic debate that continues to divide the state’s political landscape