Congress donations above Rs 20,000 plunge 75 pc, BJP gets 12 times more

• Congress reports 75 per cent decline in donations exceeding Rs 20,000 in 2025-26.

• Contributions from Prudent Electoral Trust fall nearly 88 per cent to Rs 25 crore.

• BJP's 2025-26 contribution report remains awaited as its previous year's donations far outstrip Congress collections.

The Congress — India's principal Opposition party with 128 MPs in Parliament and governments in six states (four of them under its direct leadership and two in coalition) — has reported a 75 per cent decline in donations exceeding Rs 20,000 in 2025-26. This marks the steepest fall in such contributions in a decade.

According to contribution reports filed by the party with the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Congress received Rs 130.69 crore in donations above Rs 20,000 during the financial year, per a PTI report .

The decline is particularly striking when compared with the previous financial year 2023-24, when the party collected Rs 517.39 crore in such contributions.

That year coincided with the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the Congress's donations had risen from Rs 281.48 crore.

The contrast with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is starker. The BJP received Rs 6,074.02 crore in donations exceeding Rs 20,000 in 2024-25, nearly 12 times the amount collected by the Congress in the same period.

According to a PTI report, a comparison of the Congress's disclosed contributions over the past 12 financial years shows that the last steeper decline occurred in 2015-16, when donations fell by around 86 per cent from Rs 141.46 crore in the preceding year.

The decline was largely attributable to a steep fall in the contribution received from Prudent Electoral Trust, whose donation to the Congress dropped from Rs 216.34 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 25 crore in 2025-26, marking a decline of nearly 88 per cent. Prudent was the only electoral trust named in the party's latest contribution report.

Other prominent donors included Star Cement, which contributed Rs 5 crore, Sajjan Bhajanka, who donated Rs 4 crore, and Prem Kumar Bhajanka, whose contribution stood at Rs 2 crore.

The BJP's contribution report for 2025-26 is yet to be made public by the Election Commission. However, the ruling party has consistently received substantially higher donations than the Congress in all 12 financial years under review.

These figures exclude electoral bond contributions, which were reported separately during the period the scheme was in force. Nevertheless, even against the Congress's previous collections, including receipts through electoral bonds, its donations in 2025-26 represent the lowest level since 2020-21.

It is important to note that the contribution report is not a reflection of the Congress's total income. The party also generates revenue through small donations, membership subscriptions, coupon drives and interest earnings. Its audited accounts for 2025-26 are yet to be uploaded by the ECI. These accounts will provide a more comprehensive picture of the party's overall financial health.