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Our Bureau

Company's chief maintains `no affiliations to any party'

Chennai May 21 Raj Television Network Ltd's share price touched a new high today upon news of the TV broadcaster launching a new channel — Kalaignar TV.

Raj TV's share price on the NSE today touched a high of Rs 269, before ending the day at Rs 262.75, up 5.76 per cent over the previous close of Rs 248.45. As many as 28 lakh shares of the company changed hands today on the NSE.

On the BSE, the stock gained 5.52 per cent at Rs 262.10 against Friday's close of Rs 248.40.

Apparently, the market has liked the fact that the company is warming up to the ruling party in Tamil Nadu, the DMK, which has a considerable influence at the Centre.

It is public knowledge now that the pro-DMK Sun TV has fallen foul of the party's top brass. Sun TV did not get to broadcast the function held recently to commemorate Mr M. Karunanidhi's 50 years as a legislator. Raj TV broadcast the function.

However, Mr M. Raajhendran, Managing Director, Raj Television Network, has said that the channel would not necessarily be pro-DMK, or, for that matter, any other political party.

Asked why then the company had chosen to name the channel `Kalaignar'— the name by which the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr M. Karunanidhi, is respectfully addressed — Mr Raajhendran said there was no particular reason.

Mr Raajhendran said that the 24- hour infotainment channel would be launched in the next 2-3 months.

"We will fund it ourselves, without any external support," he said. (Raj recently raised Rs 90 crore through an IPO.) "We have all infrastructure and software needed to launch a channel," he said.

Meanwhile, Raj Television Network's Senior Vice-President, Mr B. Sathya Prakash, is set to quit the company soon. When contacted, he neither gave a reason for this nor said what his next career move would be.

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