Wary after the tragedy that struck Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy whose helicopter crashed but could be traced only 24 hours later, the NCP is using a high-tech hand-held GPS/GSM tracker on board the chopper of party chief Sharad Pawar to continuously monitor his location when he is flying around Maharashtra to campaign for the Assembly polls.

The tracker, which cost Rs 10,000 and is slightly larger than a mobile phone handset, is carried by an aide of Pawar who travels with him when the Maratha strongman flies to election rallies across the state. The position of the chartered chopper is in turn monitored at the party office in real time on the Internet after it subscribed to a data-card service at Rs 500 per month.

A GPS/GSM tracker system relays its position to a service provider’s server either through Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites or a GSM mobile phone network if one is available. It weighs about 80 gm and relays not only the exact location but also speed and altitude in real time.

“We first thought about tracking him during the recent Lok Sabha elections,” NCP’s state general secretary Prakash Binsale told The Indian Express. “Whenever election campaigns pick up, the frequency of his tours increase and we are flooded with calls from partymen wanting to know about his tour plans. Often, we would not know his exact location. So, after the Lok Sabha elections and the death of Y S R Reddy, we thought of using a tracking device.”

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