BJP, INC, Trinamool Congress hit staggering donation highs post–bonds collapse

Most major political parties in India reported steep rises in declared contributions in the last financial year, marking the first complete cycle after the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bonds scheme. Election Commission filings show that the pattern of contributions has been reshaped by the return to traditional disclosure norms, with older funding channels such as electoral trusts once again emerging dominant.

Leading the surge was the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), which recorded a remarkable 9,403% rise. Its declared contribution for the year rose to ₹11.09 crore, compared with ₹11.67 lakh in the preceding year, coinciding with its strong performance as part of the National Democratic Alliance in the Bihar election.

The All India Trinamool Congress saw a 2,766% rise in donations, receiving more than ₹184.96 crore against ₹6.42 crore the previous year. Congress registered an 81.7% rise, with its contribution tally climbing from ₹280 crore to ₹509 crore.

The steep increases across several parties, especially in an election-heavy period, underline the altered behaviour of donors who now prefer identifiable channels such as electoral trusts rather than the anonymity once provided by electoral bonds. The richest among these trusts, Prudent Electoral Trust, once again features prominently across filings for multiple parties, even though its own report for the year is yet to be uploaded.

Congress seeks stability, sees expanded donor base

The Indian National Congress recorded one of its highest-ever yearly contributions, with total receipts reaching ₹509 crore. A significant portion came from Prudent Electoral Trust, which contributed ₹216 crore. The Progressive Electoral Trust added ₹77.34 crore. In contrast, the previous year saw Prudent as the party’s only donor among trusts, at ₹150 crore.

This year’s filings show at least five electoral trusts contributing to Congress, collectively giving more than ₹313 crore. Corporate contributions also stood out. Hindustan Zinc offered ₹10 crore, ITC Infotech India ₹11.50 crore, ITC Limited ₹4 crore and Century Plywoods (India) Limited ₹5 crore. Individual donations included ₹3 crore from senior leader P Chidambaram, ₹2.5 lakh from Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and ₹2.3 lakh each from Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. Priyank Kharge contributed ₹2 lakh.

The fundraising pattern suggests Congress benefited from a relatively broad donor base this cycle, as trusts, corporations and individual contributors converged in a year of national and state-level political churn.

Trinamool Congress capitalises on the election calendar, emerges among top gainers

A year ahead of the assembly elections in West Bengal, the All India Trinamool Congress reported one of the sharpest rises among national parties. From ₹6.42 crore previously, it declared ₹184.96 crore in contributions. Its biggest donor was Prudent Electoral Trust, giving ₹92 crore. Kolkata-based Tiger Associates contributed ₹50 crore, while the Tata Group-controlled Progression Electoral Trust added ₹10 crore.

The surge reflects political mobilisation before state polls as well as renewed funding interest from large trusts. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, Prudent Electoral Trust receives roughly 90% of corporate donations routed through the trust mechanism, reinforcing its centrality to party finances.

The Progressive Electoral Trust declared donations of nearly ₹915 crore in the year, spread across ten parties. Although Prudent’s report is pending, past trends indicate that it generally remains the largest contributor among all trusts.

Regional parties report dramatic rises with state polls approaching

In the run-up to several state elections, multiple regional parties registered dramatic increases in contributions.

DMK, which heads the Tamil Nadu government and will face state elections in two years, declared a 350% rise: from ₹81.5 crore earlier to ₹365 crore.

Janata Dal (United) saw contributions rise to ₹18.6 crore, compared with ₹1.81 crore the previous year. This aligns with its central role in the NDA alliance that swept the Bihar polls.

AAP reported a 245% rise, from a little over ₹11 crore to more than ₹38 crore. Its largest single donor was Prudent Electoral Trust with ₹16.4 crore, accounting for over half of its total contributions. It also received diverse smaller contributions from individuals nationwide, including micro-donations of ₹100 and several donations in the range of a few lakh rupees. Karnataka-based microfinance institution Bharatha Swamukti Samsthe gave more than ₹30 lakh.

AIMIM and the Bahujan Samaj Party declared that they had received no contributions above ₹20,000.

BJP awaits disclosure, but trust donations paint broad picture

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which traditionally declares the highest contributions of all parties, has not yet published its report for the year. However, the Progressive Electoral Trust’s filings indicate that the BJP received ₹757.6 crore from this single trust alone. It also received ₹150 crore from the New Democratic Electoral Trust, more than ₹30 crore from the Harmony Electoral Trust, ₹21 crore from the Triumph Electoral Trust, ₹9.5 lakh from the Jan Kalyan Electoral Trust and ₹7.7 lakh from the Einzigartig Electoral Trust.

Last year, the BJP had declared more than ₹2,244 crore in contributions. Its earlier receipts included ₹723 crore from Prudent Electoral Trust, over ₹127.50 crore from Triumph Electoral Trust and ₹17 lakh from Einzigartig Electoral Trust.

The Progressive Electoral Trust also contributed ₹10 crore each to TMC, YSR Congress Party, Shiv Sena, Biju Janata Dal, Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Janata Dal (United) and DMK, indicating a wide funding footprint that cuts across ideological and regional lines.

Party-wise donations table (2024–25)

*BJP’s official contribution report for the year is yet to be published. Shown here are confirmed donations routed through disclosed electoral trusts.