Now Reading: Congress donations plunge 75% to Rs 130.69 crore in 2025-26
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Congress donations plunge 75% to Rs 130.69 crore in 2025-26
The Story in Brief
Congress party's disclosed donations above Rs 20,000 fell nearly 75% to Rs 130.69 crore in 2025-26, the steepest annual decline in a decade, according to its Election Commission filing. The party had received Rs 517.39 crore in such contributions in the 2024-25 general election year.
The decline was driven largely by a drop in funding from Prudent Electoral Trust, whose contribution fell 88% from Rs 216.34 crore to Rs 25 crore. Prudent was the only electoral trust listed in the party's latest report. Other major donors included Star Cement (Rs 5 crore) and Sajjan Bhajanka (Rs 4 crore).
The BJP collected Rs 6,074.02 crore in disclosed donations in 2024-25, nearly 12 times Congress's collection. The BJP's 2025-26 contribution report has not been made public yet. Congress's audited account for 2025-26, which will show its total income including coupon collections, has not been uploaded.
Indian Opinion Analysis
All six outlets report the same Election Commission data with near-identical framing, making this uniform straight reporting. The Times of India adds context on the election-year spike and notes the decline is steep even against the non-election year of 2023-24, while Rediff and Times Now highlight that including electoral bonds makes 2025-26 the lowest since 2020-21. No outlet attributes the fall to any political cause. The coverage focuses on the numbers, the Prudent Electoral Trust drop, and the missing BJP figures. The concrete open point is Congress's pending audited account for 2025-26, which will reveal its full financial position.
Coverage: 4 sources, 4 neutral
Sources (4): timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report), Reuters (carried by thehindu.com, thehindubusinessline.com, deccanherald.com), timesnownews.com (neutral report), rediff.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
