FILE- People wait to cast their votes during local panchayat elections on the outskirts of Prayagraj, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, on April 15, 2021. Coronavirus cases fuelled by the highly transmissible omicron variant are rocketing through India early January, 2022, prompting the federal government and states to swiftly reintroduce a string of restrictions. But India's political leaders are busy on the campaign trail ahead of crucial state polls, scenes strikingly similar to last year's election season, when the delta variant ravaged the country and made India one of the world's worst-hit countries. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, File)