West Bengal, which is midway through its poll process, as well as Tamil Nadu, Assam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry, where voting has concluded, witnessed a massive surge in Covid cases since the Assembly elections were announced by the Election Commission on February 26.

Kerala, however, saw a small dip. On February 26, India had recorded 16,562 cases of Covid with 114 fatalities, while on April 6, the tally had risen almost six-fold to 96,982 cases and the toll nearly four-fold to 446. Soon after the announcement of polls in four states and the Union Territory, all the political parties kickstarted their election campaign - and the effect was soon visible.