AAP donations fall 68%
What's the story
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has reported a sharp decline in its donations for the financial year 2025-26. The party received ₹12.10 crore in contributions, a staggering 68% drop from the previous year's ₹38.10 crore. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has received this information through the party's latest financial report.
Donor details
Major donors and former member's party shift
The report reveals that nearly 83% of the AAP's donations came from two major donors: Prudent Electoral Trust and Trident Limited. Both donated ₹5 crore each.
Notably, Trident was founded by former AAP Rajya Sabha member Rajinder Gupta, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after a rebellion led by Raghav Chadha in April this year.
The remaining contributions totalled about ₹2.10 crore.
Regional trends
Similar trends in other regional parties
The trend of declining contributions is not limited to the AAP.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh reported ₹58.25 crore in donations for 2025-26, down from ₹83.03 crore the previous year.
Prudent Electoral Trust was also TDP's biggest donor this time, donating ₹45 crore.
Meanwhile, the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), which lost power to TDP, saw a steep drop in donations from ₹140.04 crore to ₹24.31 crore during this period.
Odisha update
BJD's contribution report
In Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) did not report any contributions above ₹20,000 in its latest filing. This is a stark contrast to the ₹60 crore it had reported in 2024-25.
The party had also filed nil reports for contributions in 2022-23 and 2023-24, when electoral bonds were still available.
Rules require parties to identify contributors whose donations surpass ₹20,000 during a fiscal year.