With an eye on the Bihar assembly elections, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on October 22 released the Bharatiya Janata Party's poll manifesto which promises a free COVID-19 vaccine for every Bihari once the vaccine has been cleared by the Indian Council of Medical Research.
Quickly taking a page from the BJP copybook, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami -- whose state goes to the polls in May -- assured Tamilians of free immunisation against coronavirus as soon as a vaccine is made available.
Dominic Xavier is puzzled by the politics of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Will only Indians in states going to the polls get a vaccine shot? What happens to Indians in non-election bound states? When will they be protected from the pandemic?
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com