Madhya Pradesh elections: Jhabua administration wants stickers on liquor bottles to sensitize voters; drops plan

However, the administration later decided to withdraw its decision, taking into account its “pros and cons”. “We’ve asked the shopkeepers to return the stickers,” a district excise officer was quoted as saying by the news agency.

Shopkeepers said the stickers which were provided by the excise department carried messages urging people to ‘hit the (voting) button’ without fail. (ANI)

After Bihar prohibited the sale of liquor in 2016, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had mulled introducing the same with an eye on the state elections. The CM had also shut several liquor stores located within five km of the bank of river Narmada during his ‘Narmada Sewa Yatra’, and had promised a blanket ban on the sale of liquor in the state.

However, the state finance minister later announced that the government was not mulling a ban on the sale of alcohol as it would hurt the sentiments of the tribal population of the state.