1. Parties shape public opinion by raising and highlighting issues before the people; they reduce a vast multitude of opinions into a few basic positions which they support. 2. Parties have lakhs of members and activists spread all over the country, who take the party's views to every village and town, so that opinions in society crystallise on the lines that parties take. 3. Many of the pressure groups are the extensions of political parties among different sections of society, and parties themselves sometimes launch movements for solving problems faced by the people. 4. Through election campaigns, manifestos, public meetings, newspapers and social media, parties inform and educate voters about policies and thus influence what people think.