Major 75% decline recorded in Congress donations

A massive decline has been observed in the donations received by the Indian National Congress. According to the donation report for the year 2025-26 submitted to the Election Commission, Congress received a total of ₹ 130.7 crore in donations this year. This amount is barely a quarter of the ₹ 517.4 crore funds received in the year 2024-25, indicating a sharp 75% decline in the party's donations.

According to a report by The Indian Express, this decline has been observed at a time when the Bihar Assembly elections were being held and preparations were underway for the elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry to be held in April 2026. Notably, the donations received in the year 2025-26 are also about 53% less than the amount received in the year 2023-24. Since the year 2024-25 was a general election year, an increase in donations to Congress as the main opposition party was expected, which showed an 84% increase compared to 2023-24.

The contribution of the Prudent Electoral Trust to the party's funds has declined significantly. In the year 2024-25, Prudent's share was 41.8% of the total donations received by Congress, which dropped to only 19% in the year 2025-26. According to a report by The Times of India, last year, the donations received by Congress from the corporate sector were primarily provided through this single electoral trust. However, the ₹ 25 crore contribution made by this trust in the year 2025-26 is only 11.5% compared to the ₹ 216 crore funds received in the year 2024-25.

Looking at the figures for the year 2024-25, it is known that ₹ 5 crore was donated by Star Cement Limited, ₹ 4 crore by Sajjan Bhajanka, ₹ 3 crore by Afnan Constructions, ₹ 2 crore by Premkumar Bhajanka, and ₹ 1 crore each by Ipsom Proadvisors and SMS Builders. At that time, only 9 individuals and companies had donated ₹ 1 crore or more, which totaled ₹ 43 crore. In comparison, 1321 people who donated ₹ 5 lakh or less contributed a total of ₹ 37.2 crore, which was 28.5% of the total amount. These figures show that despite the low number of large donors, their share in the total funds was very high. In the year 2024-25, Congress received more than ₹ 350 crore through coupon issues and their sale. More information regarding other sources of funds will be disclosed in the 2025-26 audit report of Congress.

Congress was India's oldest political party. It had played a major role in the country's politics for a long time.