Congress donations crash 75% to Rs 130 crore, BJP’s 2024-25 collection crosses Rs 6,000 crore
The Congress party has reported a significant decline in large donations, with contributions exceeding Rs 20,000 falling nearly 75 per cent to Rs 130.69 crore in the financial year 2025-26.
An examination of the party’s submissions to the Election Commission shows that its disclosed contributions stood at Rs 517.39 crore in 2024-25. The latest reduction represents the sharpest annual decline in a decade.
The previous major fall occurred in 2015-16, when Congress donations dropped by approximately 86 per cent from the preceding financial year, declining from Rs 141.46 crore.
The latest figures follow two consecutive years of improved fundraising. The party collected Rs 281.48 crore in 2023-24, before its donations climbed to Rs 517.39 crore during the 2024-25 Lok Sabha election year.
In comparison, the BJP reported donations of Rs 6,074.02 crore during 2024-25, almost 12 times the amount received by Congress. The BJP’s contribution figures for 2025-26 are not yet available in the Election Commission’s public records.
The BJP has maintained a lead over Congress in disclosed donations throughout the 12 financial years covered by the analysis.
A major factor behind Congress’s latest decline was the sharp reduction in contributions from Prudent Electoral Trust. Its donations to the party fell from Rs 216.34 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 25 crore in 2025-26, marking a decrease of around 88 per cent.
Prudent was the only electoral trust identified in the latest Congress contribution report. Other notable donors included Star Cement, which contributed Rs 5 crore, Sajjan Bhajanka with Rs 4 crore and Prem Kumar Bhajanka with Rs 2 crore.
Despite the latest setback, Congress’s fundraising was not at its lowest level during the period examined. The party had recorded smaller collections of Rs 74.52 crore in 2020-21, Rs 95.46 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 79.92 crore in 2022-23.