The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) reported a 68 per cent decline in donations during the 2025–26 financial year, declaring contributions of approximately ₹12.09 crore, according to its annual contribution report submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The party, led by Arvind Kejriwal, had declared donations worth ₹38.10 crore in 2024–25. The latest figures show a substantial reduction in reported contributions, with two major donors accounting for the bulk of the funds received.
The disclosures also list Ashutosh Ranka, who previously served as an AAP spokesperson and is now associated with the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), among the contributors. Ranka donated ₹21,100 to AAP during the financial year, according to the party's filing, as reported by The Hindustan Times.
According to the contribution report, Prudent Electoral Trust and Trident Limited contributed ₹5 crore each to AAP, together accounting for nearly 83 per cent of the party's declared donations for 2025–26.
Trident Limited was founded by Rajinder Gupta, a Punjab-based industrialist and former AAP Rajya Sabha MP who joined the BJP earlier in 2026.
Gupta's political switch has brought renewed attention to the company's contribution to AAP, although the donation was recorded in the party's financial disclosures and does not, by itself, establish any connection between the contribution and his subsequent political move.
Prudent Electoral Trust, meanwhile, is a major political funding intermediary that has received contributions from corporate groups, including the Bharti, Tata and Jindal groups in previous years.
The trust's contribution report for 2025–26 was not available at the time of the disclosures, leaving the sources of its latest donations to political parties unclear.
Other donors named in AAP's filing
Apart from the two principal contributors, AAP's report lists donations from several other entities and individuals.
These include:
- Jain Siddiqui and Associates, which contributed ₹5 lakh.
- Brilliant Study Centre, which donated ₹20,010.
- Ashutosh Ranka, who contributed ₹21,100.
Ranka had earlier served as an AAP spokesperson before becoming associated with the CJP. His contribution was made during the period covered by the party's 2025–26 report.
The disclosure provides a record of the contribution but does not indicate that the donation was linked to any subsequent political affiliation.
Donations to regional parties also decline
The contribution reports submitted to the Election Commission show a sharp fall in donations to some other regional parties during the same financial year.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which lost power in Odisha in 2024 after governing the state for 24 consecutive years, declared no contributions exceeding ₹20,000 in 2025–26. In the previous financial year, the party had reported donations of ₹60 crore, including ₹25 crore from Vedanta Limited.
The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), an ally of the BJP in Assam, reported contributions of ₹7.64 crore. Of this amount, ₹5.18 crore came from the BJP's Assam unit.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) declared donations of ₹58.25 crore, including ₹45 crore from Prudent Electoral Trust.
The YSR Congress Party reported contributions of ₹24.30 crore, with its largest donations coming from Chennai-based companies.
Election Commission yet to release reports of major national parties
The Election Commission has not yet made public the contribution reports of the BJP, Congress and several other national parties for 2025–26.
Political parties are required to submit details of contributions exceeding ₹20,000 under the existing disclosure framework. Consequently, the figures in the annual reports do not necessarily represent the complete amount received by a party during the financial year.
The latest disclosures offer a snapshot of political funding patterns, highlighting the role of electoral trusts, corporate contributors and individual donors in financing political parties.
For AAP, the 68 per cent fall in declared donations comes amid changes in its political position and the broader funding landscape following the discontinuation of the electoral bonds scheme.
