The Congress party’s receipts from donations above ₹20,000 plunged nearly 75% to ₹130.69 crore in 2025-26, the steepest annual fall in such contributions in a decade, an analysis of the party’s filings with the Election Commission shows.
The latest decline follows two years of higher collections. Funding through Prudent Electoral Trust accounted for a substantial part of Congress’ latest decline. The party had received ₹517.39 crore in such contributions in 2024-25, according to its 2024-25 contribution report submitted to the commission. A comparison with the preceding 12 financial years shows that the last steeper fall was in 2015-16, when Congress’ disclosed donations dropped roughly 86% from ₹141.46 crore the previous year. Congress received ₹281.48 crore in disclosed donations in 2023-24, rising to ₹517.39 crore in 2024-25, the year Lok Sabha elections were held. BJP received ₹6,074.02 crore in donations exceeding ₹20,000 in 2024-25, nearly 12 times Congress’s collection. BJP’s corresponding figure for 2025-26 is not available as the party’s contribution report has not been made public by the ECI yet. The BJP collected more than the Congress in each of the 12 financial years examined. The trust’s contribution fell from ₹216.34 crore in 2024-25 to ₹25 crore in 2025-26, a drop of about 88%. The Congress’ 2025-26 fund collection, though sharply lower than the previous year, was not its lowest over the period examined.
