Indian states vote in assembly polls amid surge in COVID cases

Four states and a union territory vote in elections seen as a crucial test for PM Narendra Modi’s government.

Voters in four Indian states and a union territory are casting their ballots in elections seen as a test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which is facing a tough fight against the country’s latest surge in coronavirus cases. News channels on Tuesday showed voters wearing masks as officials checked temperatures and tried to maintain physical distancing in lines. Modi on Twitter asked people, particularly young voters, to “vote in record numbers” as the polls opened in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu states and the federally administered territory of Puducherry.