The Congress has long felt the need for a publication house in the state, where the CPI(M) and other Left parties have never faced any dearth of writings to drive home their political viewpoints. If the CPI(M) has Chintha Publications, the CPI has Prabhat Book House, while the RSS owns Kurukshetra Prakashan.

The Congress hopes to groom a crop of pro-party writers with the publication house, apart from winning over eminent writers who have distanced themselves from the Left. Sources in the Congress said the party would meet the initial financial requirements of the venture.

On the business front, it is confident of making the book business viable. The publication industry in Kerala registered 6 per cent growth last year, despite threats from the visual media. Some groups have diversified into real estate, professional education and allied areas.

A member of Priyadarshini Publications and the former director of the Kerala Language Institute, Dr M R Thampan, said though the thrust of the venture would be promoting new-generation writers, the first batch of books would be from established Malayalam writers such as Kakkanadan, M G S Naryanan and Kamala Surayya (Kamala Das).

“Priyadarshini Publications would have a branded distribution network across the state. Ten books would be brought out in January, marking the formal entry of the party into the book industry,” said Thampan.

Priyadarshini hopes to cover the whole gamut from literature to travelogue to children’s stuff. In 2009, it plans to bring out 50 titles.

“Of course, the Congress’s ideology would find a place among the titles. But the party would not interfere with the selection of non-political works. Expert subject committees have been formed to select the books,” Thampan said.