According to sources in the CPI(M), the party has already floated a company - Malayalam Communication Ltd - and is all set to raise Rs 50 crore by private placements.

The sources say the immediate need of the party is to make use of the tremendous penetration power of the electronic media. And the party is working towards that end.

The channel will highlight the "real Kerala" and its people as the others are busy catering to the needs of the upper middle class people, the sources say.

The party will also launch a separate channel for creative programmes andquality entertainment. In West Bengal, the CPI(M) has already pressed into service a team selected from the cadre-employees of Ganashakti - the party organ in Bengali- to prepare the ground for a channel soon. Before the channel is launched, its programmes will be test-run on ATN International's ATN Bangla and ATN World, two of the many 24-hour Bengali channels.

However, ATN International director Tapan Roy says there has been no such arrangement with the party and his company has given a four-hour slot to West Bengal Film Development Corporation which are preparing various programmes for ATN Bangla and ATN World. Noted film director Shakti Samant is ready to beam a mega serial on ATN World, Roy said and added that Pritish Nandy Communications is working for ATN as software developer.