Significant Surge in Political Donations for National Parties in 2024-25

A new report from the Association for Democratic Reforms highlights a staggering 161% increase in political donations for national parties in the fiscal year 2024-25. The ruling BJP stands out, receiving over ten times the total donations of its rivals. With significant contributions from corporate donors, the BJP's funding surged to ₹6,074.015 crore, while the Congress and AAP also saw notable increases. This article delves into the details of the donations, the impact of corporate funding, and the leading donors in this political landscape.

By Narendra Chaudhary Mar 26, 2026, 19:48 IST

Overview of Political Donations

According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), there has been a remarkable 161% increase in donations received by national parties for the fiscal year 2024-25 compared to the previous year. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has emerged as the largest beneficiary, receiving more than ten times the total donations collected by all other national parties combined. The report, released on Thursday, indicates that national parties declared a total of ₹6,648.563 crore from 11,343 donations exceeding ₹20,000 in the fiscal year 2025. Out of this, the BJP alone garnered ₹6,074.015 crore from 5,522 donations, while the Congress party received ₹517.394 crore from 2,501 donations.

Comparison of Donations Among Parties

The report highlights that the donations declared by the BJP were over ten times greater than the total contributions received by the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), and National People's Party (NPP) during the same period. Meanwhile, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) announced that, similar to the past 19 years, it did not receive any donations exceeding ₹20,000 this time. The total donations to national parties saw an increase of ₹4,104.285 crore in 2024-25 compared to 2023-24. The BJP's donations rose by 171% from ₹2,243.947 crore in the previous fiscal year, while the Congress experienced an 84% increase, rising from ₹281.48 crore in 2023-24 to ₹517.394 crore in 2024-25.

Corporate Donations Dominate Political Funding

Corporate contributions have played a significant role in political donations, accounting for 92.18% of the total donations, which amounts to ₹6,128.787 crore through 3,244 donations. Individual donors contributed ₹505.66 crore through 7,900 donations, representing 7.61% of the total. The BJP received ₹5,717.167 crore from 2,794 corporate donations, which is more than 13 times the total amount received by all other national parties combined (₹411.62 crore). Additionally, the BJP received ₹345.94 crore from 2,627 other organizations.

Top Donors and Their Contributions

Among the leading donors, the Prudent Electoral Trust contributed a total of ₹2,413.465 crore to the BJP, Congress, and AAP combined. Out of this, ₹2,180.7119 crore went to the BJP (35.90% of the total funds received by the party), ₹216.335 crore to Congress (41.81% of its total), and ₹16.4178 crore to AAP (43.08% of its total). The Progressive Electoral Trust made two donations totaling ₹834.97 crore, one of which was from the AB General Electoral Trust.