The Congress received Rs 130.69 crore in donations exceeding Rs 20,000 in 2025-26, a nearly 75 per cent decline from the previous financial year and its steepest annual fall in such contributions in a decade, an analysis of the party's filings with the Election Commission shows, reported PTI.
According to the PTI report, The party had collected Rs 517.39 crore in donations above Rs 20,000 in 2024-25, the year of the Lok Sabha elections. Its collections had risen from Rs 281.48 crore in 2023-24, according to contribution reports submitted to the poll panel.
A comparison of the party's disclosed contributions over the past 12 financial years shows that the last sharper decline was in 2015-16, when donations fell by around 86 per cent from Rs 141.46 crore in the preceding year.
The latest fall was largely driven by a sharp reduction in contributions 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 — a decline of about 88 per cent. Prudent was the only electoral trust listed in the party's latest contribution report.
Other major contributors included Star Cement, which donated Rs 5 crore, Sajjan Bhajanka, who contributed Rs 4 crore, and Prem Kumar Bhajanka, who gave Rs 2 crore.
Despite the steep year-on-year decline, the Congress's disclosed contributions were higher than those reported in several earlier years. The party received Rs 74.52 crore in 2020-21, Rs 95.46 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 79.92 crore in 2022-23.
The BJP, meanwhile, received Rs 6,074.02 crore in donations exceeding Rs 20,000 in 2024-25, nearly 12 times the Congress's collection for the same period. The BJP's contribution report for 2025-26 has not yet been made public by the Election Commission. The party collected more than the Congress in each of the 12 financial years examined.
The figures exclude electoral bonds, which were reported separately while the scheme was in operation. Including electoral bond receipts in the earlier years, the Congress's 2025-26 collection was its lowest since 2020-21.
The contribution report does not reflect the party's total income, which also includes smaller donations, membership fees, coupon collections and interest. Its audited accounts for 2025-26 have not yet been uploaded and will be required to assess its overall financial position.
In 2024-25, the Congress received Rs 350.12 crore through coupon collections alone.
(With inputs from PTI)