Pressure Groups and Political Parties
Pressure groups | Political Parties |
Pressure groups do not seek direct power; they only influence those who are in power for moulding decisions in their favour. | Political parties operate and seek political power to translate its policies into practice. |
Pressure groups do not contest elections; they may support political parties of their choice. | Political parties nominate candidates, contest elections, and participate in election campaigns. |
Pressure groups do not necessarily have political ideologies. They may seek to influence economic or cultural policy based on their needs. | Ideology for political parties is very important as they organize people around them based on ideology. |
Pressure groups are not based on personality of an individual. | Apart from ideology, personality cult of individual leaders is important. |
The interests of the pressure groups are usually specific and particular. Their activities are confined to the protection and promotion of those interests only. | The political parties have policies and programmes with national and international ramifications. |
Their membership is limited | The membership is very broad based. |
Pressure groups resort to agitation a politics like marches, demonstrations, strikes, fasts etc. | Political parties use Constitutional means to achieve their aims. |
Techniques used by Pressure Groups
Electioneering: Try to place in public office persons who are favourably disposed towards the interests they seek to promote.
Lobbying: Try to persuade public officers, whether they are initially favourably disposed toward them or not, to adopt and enforce the policies that they think will prove most beneficial to their interests.
Propagandizing: To influence public opinion and thereby gain an indirect influence over government, since the government in a democracy is substantially affected by public opinion.
♤ The pressure groups influence the policy-making and policy- implementation in the government through legal and legitimate methods like lobbying, correspondence, publicity, propagandising, petitioning, public debating, maintaining contacts with their legislators and so forth.
♤ However, sometimes they resort to illegitimate and
illegal methods like strikes, violent activities and corruption/bribing which damages public interest and administrative integrity.
Pressure Groups can enhance as well as distort the political system. Because of the complexities of modern government, and the pluralistic nature of Indian society, pressure groups provide a means by which ordinary citizens can participate in the decision making process, as well as maintaining a check on government activity. Similarly, governments can be better informed of the electorate’s sensitivities to policies, because of the pressures articulated by these groups.