Most poll-bound states, save Tamil Nadu, kept testing low till elections

Covid-19 testing usually speeds up when local reports indicate a rising positivity rate. But Kerala and Assam dragged on till polls were over, while in West Bengal testing is still disastrously low

Assembly elections are in full swing this year particularly in West Bengal, where the polls have been scheduled over a protracted period of one month. Polling days have passed by in Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry, the lone union territory in fray.

But as the campaign rages in WB, Covid-19 is spreading with a speed never imagined before in multiple states. Including, of course, the states mentioned above. Did poll bound states change their strategy of tackling Covid-19 because they had elections? 

A quick time analysis shows that three of the four major states delayed testing despite worsening indicators.