AAP Donations Slide, BJD Reports Zero Contributions
The latest contribution disclosures submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI) show a sharp contraction in funding for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and an absence of reported contributions above the disclosure threshold for the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) during 2025–26. AAP declared ₹12.09 crore, down 68% from the previous year, while BJD reported nil contributions after receiving ₹60 crore in 2024–25.
What ECI Contribution Reports Reveal
Under the ECI's disclosure framework, political parties are required to report contributions above ₹20,000 received during a financial year. These contribution reports provide information about identified donors and amounts but do not represent a party's complete income. Total income is reported separately through audited annual accounts.
This distinction is important because a party reporting zero contributions above ₹20,000 does not necessarily mean it had no income or financial resources during the year.
The latest disclosures also remain incomplete at the national level, as the ECI has not yet made the 2025–26 contribution reports of the BJP, Congress and some other national parties publicly available.
AAP Funding Falls Sharply
AAP's disclosed contributions dropped from ₹38.10 crore in 2024–25 to ₹12.09 crore in 2025–26, representing a decline of about 68%. Two contributors accounted for almost the entire amount:
· Prudent Electoral Trust — ₹5 crore
· Trident Limited — ₹5 crore
Together, the two contributions represented roughly 83% of AAP's disclosed funding for the year. Prudent Electoral Trust had contributed ₹16.4 crore to AAP in the previous financial year.
The figures illustrate how concentrated donor patterns can significantly influence a party's annual contribution totals.
BJD Reports No Contributions Above ₹20,000
The BJD reported nil contributions above ₹20,000 for 2025–26. This represents a sharp change from the ₹60 crore disclosed in 2024–25, when the party was still in power in Odisha after more than two decades of uninterrupted government.
Vedanta was the BJD's largest reported donor in 2024–25, contributing ₹25 crore. The timing of donations is also relevant: the previous year's contributions were received during April and May 2024, around the period of the Odisha Assembly election.
Other Regional Parties Show Mixed Trends
The disclosures from other regional parties present a varied picture. The Telugu Desam Party reported about ₹58.3 crore in 2025–26, compared with ₹83 crore in the previous year, while the YSR Congress Party reported a lower contribution figure than the amount cited for the preceding year.
Such variations can reflect differences in election cycles, donor activity, political circumstances and the timing of contributions.
National Picture Remains Incomplete
For comparison, ADR's analysis of ECI filings for 2024–25 found ₹6,648.56 crore in contributions above ₹20,000 to national parties. The BJP reported ₹6,074.02 crore and Congress ₹517.39 crore. Corporate and business donors accounted for 92.18% of the total.
However, these figures cannot yet be directly compared with 2025–26 regional-party disclosures because the latest national-party reports are still unavailable.
Transparency Depends on the Full Picture
The latest filings demonstrate both the value and limits of political contribution disclosures. They reveal identifiable large donations and changing funding patterns, but they capture only contributions above a prescribed threshold and must be read alongside audited income statements.
As more 2025–26 reports become public, the fuller picture of political financing will emerge. For voters, researchers and institutions, the significance lies not simply in whether donations rise or fall, but in understanding who funds political organisations, how concentrated that funding is, and how transparently parties account for their overall finances.
(With agency inputs)
