The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has disclosed receiving ₹12.10 crore in contributions for the financial year 2025-26, a decline of 68 percent compared with the previous year. The filing, submitted to the Election Commission of India, shows that nearly 83 percent of the total amount came from just two sources – Prudent Electoral Trust and Trident Limited – highlighting a sharp concentration of funding amid an overall downturn.
Both Prudent Electoral Trust and Trident Limited contributed ₹5 crore each, accounting for the bulk of the party’s receipts. The balance of the contributions, roughly ₹2.10 crore, was made up of smaller donations from a range of individuals and entities. Among the minor donors, former AAP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, now co‑convener of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), gave a modest sum of ₹21,100. The donation was recorded as having been made during the 2025-26 reporting period, before Ranka assumed his current role in the CJP.
Ranka’s contribution is notable because it reflects a broader pattern of former AAP members moving to other political formations. While the amount he donated is relatively small, the filing explicitly notes his prior affiliation with AAP and his subsequent shift to the CJP, underscoring the fluid nature of party loyalties in the current political climate.
Trident Limited’s founder, Rajinder Gupta, also features prominently in the report. Gupta, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha on an AAP ticket in October 2025, was still listed as an AAP donor when Trident’s ₹5‑crore cheque was dated 9 January 2026. However, Gupta switched allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in April 2026, a move that coincided with the filing of the contribution report. The timing of the cheque and Gupta’s party change illustrate how corporate and personal affiliations can intersect with electoral financing.
For comparison, AAP’s contributions in the preceding financial year (2024‑25) stood at ₹38.10 crore, more than three times the amount reported for 2025‑26. That earlier figure represented a substantial increase from the ₹11.06 crore disclosed for 2023‑24. In 2024‑25, Prudent Electoral Trust was the party’s largest donor, providing ₹16.40 crore, which underscores the trust’s continued importance to AAP’s fundraising apparatus.
The latest filing marks the first full financial year after AAP lost its governing majority in Delhi in February 2025. Despite that setback, the party continues to hold power in Punjab, where Trident Limited is headquartered. The report lists 1,202 numbered entries, ranging from large corporate donations to modest personal contributions. Among the smaller entries, party chief Arvind Kejriwal is recorded as receiving three payments of ₹10,000 each, former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi made twelve payments of ₹3,500 each (totaling ₹42,000), and Punjab AAP president Aman Arora is shown with twelve payments of ₹10,000 each (totaling ₹1.20 lakh).
Comparative trends among regional parties
Three other regional parties filed contribution reports that illustrate divergent financial trajectories following the 2024 assembly elections. The Telugu Desam Party (TDP), now in power in Andhra Pradesh, reported ₹58.25 crore in contributions for 2025‑26, down from ₹83.03 crore the year before. Prudent Electoral Trust remained a key donor, increasing its support to the TDP from ₹40 crore in 2024‑25 to ₹45 crore in the latest filing.
The YSR Congress Party, which lost power to the TDP, saw its contributions fall dramatically to ₹24.31 crore in 2025‑26 from roughly ₹140.04 crore in 2024‑25. Its largest donor in the most recent report was Goodwood Sanctuary Private Limited, which contributed ₹10 crore. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which was ousted in Odisha in 2024, listed no contributions above the ₹20,000 reporting threshold in its latest filing. The BJD had disclosed ₹60 crore in 2024‑25, all received in April and May 2024 before the election results were announced, and had filed nil reports for similar contributions in 2022‑23 and 2023‑24 when electoral bonds were still in use.
Regulatory framework and reporting limits
Under Indian election law, political parties are required to identify donors whose contributions exceed ₹20,000 during a financial year. The contribution reports submitted to the Election Commission therefore capture only those larger donations, while a party’s total annual income is reported separately in its audited accounts. This distinction means that the figures disclosed in the filings do not represent the complete financial picture of any given party, but they do provide a transparent view of the most significant sources of funding.
The stark reduction in AAP’s contributions for 2025‑26, combined with the concentration of funds in a handful of large donors, may have implications for the party’s operational capacity as it navigates opposition status in Delhi and continues to govern Punjab. The shifting allegiances of donors such as Rajinder Gupta, along with the broader pattern of declining contributions across several regional parties, suggest a period of financial recalibration in Indian politics ahead of the next electoral cycle.
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