Lok Sabha elections 2019: In the heat of the political season, a news item about EVMs emanating from Bihar surprised people across the country two days ago. As many as six EVMs were allegedly found inside a hotel room even as voting was on for the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha elections 2019 in the state. Soon, the district authorities sprung into action, four police personnel were suspended and an election official was issued show-cause notice. The officials asserted that none of the EVMs was used or their seals were broken. They were meant for replacement in case of a snag being reported from anywhere. The timely clarification did end the controversy for the time being. But this was not the first time when EVMs have been reported to be at the centre of a controversy. On many occasions, workers of political parties have been reported to be guarding the EVMs to ensure they are not tampered with. However, thanks to technology, all of this may not be necessary. 

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The Election Commission of India has instructed all vehicles carrying EVMs and VVPATs to be mandatorily equipped with GPS to track their movement. For this mammoth task of monitoring the EVMs and VVPATs, Letstrack - an IOT-based GPS tracking solution provider -  has also been roped in.

How it works

For keeping a check on the GST mapping of the vehicles carrying the EVM machines, a control room has been set up. The GPS monitoring helps in keeping a track of the location of the vehicles. It also keeps the control room aware of the route and speed of the vehicle.

Vikram Kumar, CEO, Letstrack, told Zee Business Online, "Letstrack devices have been installed in vehicles carrying EVMs and VVPATs across the country."

Kumar added that Letstrack is helping in keeping a check on approximately 25,000 vehicles carrying EVMs.

"With GPS tracking solutions, EC is trying its best to reduce the number of polling station under shadow zone. Hacking of vehicles would not be possible as these machines can’t be tampered using Bluetooth etc. The data collected would be stored internally and can’t be transferred to any other device," Kumar said. 

Kumar said Letstrack is playing a major role in monitoring the EVMs and VVPATs by providing services to around 20% vehicles carrying the EVMs.

Letstrack is an app-to-app and app-to-web mobility platform. Just a three-year-old company, this is for the first time when Letstrack is making its contribution in the elections.

When asked how Letstrack was roped in by the Election Commission, Kumar said, "We are surrounded by tracking today and its positive use in our day to day life. From tracking food to waiting for a cab. Customers and companies are getting to know how it is close to impossible to live without tracking in today's world. With a similar vision, election commission this year decided to add another layer of security by making sure the EVMs are collected and delivered on time and as per the plan."