With almost all major political parties in Tamil Nadu having a satellite television channel for themselves as propaganda vehicles, the AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) led by former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam is exploring the possibility of launching its own TV channel.
Currently, the AIADMK (Amma), the DMK, the Congress, the BJP, the PMK, the DMDK, the Naam Tamilar Katchi, the VCK and the MDMK either have official television channels or web channels or enjoy the backing of some private television channels launched by party men.
The idea to launch a TV channel initially came from senior party functionaries backing Mr. Panneerselvam. “We have been talking about it since the time he [Mr. Panneerselvam] took the bold step of rebelling against Sasikala (jailed AIADMK-Amma leader). Many of his supporters too backed the idea. But it is still in the discussion stage as our focus right now is on winning the byelection in Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar,” a senior leader said.
Asked about it on Wednesday, Mr. Panneerselvam denied there was any such move. “All the (existing neutral) television channels are like our channels,” he told The Hindu .
However, a prominent leader in his camp, who is believed to have the resources to launch a TV channel, said there was indeed a plan to have an official propaganda vehicle. “We are hoping to call it Amma TV (or something that would have Amma as a suffix/prefix). But it is too early to talk about it,” he said. It is learnt that this leader had held discussions with a senior journalist, who was once associated with Jaya TV, to launch the new channel.
Boost to visibility
Another senior leader said that the idea was being strongly pushed by several senior leaders, since they think it would give the party the much-needed visibility. “The intention is to have sufficient visibility among the public. It would help us a great deal if we have our own TV channel, especially when all the other major parties have their own channels.”
However, there are some reservations on its commercial viability. “Of course, it’s natural for any political party to look for publicity in every possible way and that remains the mainstay for any party. But, we have to see whether it would be commercially viable,” the leader said.
Some senior leaders were also also said to have opined that initially, the party should capitalise on the existing channels. “Even without a channel, we are currently getting good airtime. A senior leader suggested that we should find ways to get maximum publicity from existing channels because we should also see whether it would be possible for us to sustain the channel amidst strong competition,” he added.
