BENGALURU: Less than 24 hours after Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah ruled out any liquor ban , insiders in the state's Congress government said the party may include prohibition in its election manifesto for the 2018 polls with an eye on rural women's votes.

A senior Congress member confirmed to TOI: "It's unlikely that Karnataka will announce a total ban on liquor, but the party is definitely contemplating including prohibition in its manifesto." Sources said Karnataka can ill afford a ban since excise revenue forms the second largest tax pool after commercial taxes.

Recently, a 31-member team led by the chairman of Karnataka State Temperance Board , a government agency established to create awareness on the ill effects of alcohol consumption, visited Bihar to understand the financial implications of such a ban. According to sources, the excise revenue mop-up in Bihar was about a fourth of Karnataka's, making a prohibition move in the latter that much more fraught with difficulties.

The state's Siddaramaiah government has set a revenue target of Rs 18,050 crore from the excise department for 2017-18.

