Around 3000 women, members of PMK, hit the steets in Chennai demanding prohibition.
Almost a year after neighbouring Kerala announced a zero liquor policy, prohibition is rapidly becoming an election issue in Tamil Nadu, pushed by the opposition and spearheaded by one the smaller parties - the PMK.
Though the J Jayalalithaa government is anything but keen -- liquor fetches a whopping Rs 24000 crore or 17% of revenue - the idea has found a resonance among a large section of women voters.
Now, with elections only eight months away, there are speculations that the Chief Minister may make prohibition a poll promise in a bid to win a second consecutive term.
"Tamil Nadu is the only state in India that sells liquor for its survival. It is shameful. They don't just sell liquor. They enforce it," said Anbumani Ramadoss, the chief ministerial candidate of the PMK and former Union health minister.
Mr Ramadoss's party had got only 5% votes in the last elections and has three members in the state assembly - two of whom have rebelled. Still, under his leadership, around 3,000 women party members hit the streets today demanding prohibition.
But M Karunanidhi -- the chief of the main opposition party DMK and former chief minister -- has said his party would aggressively work towards prohibition if elected to power, citing how alcoholism is affecting farmers, workers, students and women.
One of the women attending today's rally, 48-year-old Nirmala, recounted how alcohol had practically destroyed the men in her family. Her husband Narayanan, a driver, committed suicide in 1998 after becoming an alcoholic. Her elder daughter's husband, she said, has now turned alcoholic as well.
Appealing to the Chief Minister to announce prohibition, another woman said, "You give us free gold mangalsutras for our wedding. But it doesn't stay on our neck as many of our husbands die due to alcoholism".
Last year, Kerala - which earned a 22% revenue from alcohol - shut down all bars except the ones in five-star hotels. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has declared that the state will be liquor free by 2023.