Many Indians lowered their guard after infections slowed sharply in late 2020, with huge crowds thronging religious festivals such as the Kumbh Mela which on one day last month saw three million attendees.
West Bengal in eastern India was the most important with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist BJP party attempting to win power there for the first time.
India breached the grim milestone of 100,000 daily infections for the first time on Monday, and cases are likely to stay high again when fresh figures are released later on Tuesday.
If a larger number of young and working population is vaccinated, the intensity of the cases would be much lower than the treatment that they need today.
Opposition parties questioned the company's policy following the report, but the Menlo Park, California-based company maintained, "remains committed to be an open and transparent platform."
"We are convinced that durable peace and stability in South Asia is contingent upon resolving all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, in particular the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.”
"I also take this opportunity to convey our best wishes for the people of India in the fight against the COV1D-19 pandemic," says the PM .
India's fourth most populous state, with 90 million people, was for decades a bastion of communism, and registered a voter turnout of nearly 80% in Saturday's first phase of voting.
Politicians on the campaign trail often showed scant regard for social distancing, but as voters queued patiently at polling centres, security personnel and election workers handed out masks, hand sanitisers and gloves.
It was the first phase of voting in both states, and the results won’t be known for months.
Modi and his home minister Amit Shah campaigned aggressively for their Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal, luring local politicians away from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) party, whose firebrand leader Mamata Banerjee has been chief minister since 2011.
In a message comemorating Pakistan Day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told his counterpart Prime Minister Imran Khan that his country desires mutually cordial relations.
Prime Minister Modi stated in his letter that "As a neighbouring country, India desires cordial relations with the people of Pakistan", adding that "For this, an environment of trust, devoid of terror and hostility, is imperative."