AAP donations fall 68% to ₹12.10 crore in 2025-26; Prudent, Trident give ₹5 crore each

The Aam Aadmi Party received ₹12.10 crore in contributions during 2025-26, a decline of about 68 per cent from the ₹38.10 crore it reported a year earlier, according to its contribution report filed with the Election Commission of India.

Two donors accounted for roughly 83 per cent of the total. Prudent Electoral Trust and Trident Limited each contributed ₹5 crore, while all other contributions together came to about ₹2.10 crore. The report carries 1,202 numbered entries.

Trident Limited is a Punjab-based textile and manufacturing conglomerate founded by Rajinder Gupta, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha on an AAP ticket in October 2025. The company's ₹5-crore cheque was dated 9 January 2026, when Gupta was still with the party. He joined the BJP in April this year.

Prudent Electoral Trust, earlier known as Satya Electoral Trust, is the country's wealthiest electoral trust and channels a large share of corporate donations to political parties. It was also AAP's largest donor in 2024-25, when it gave ₹16.40 crore.

The filing covers the first full financial year since AAP lost power in Delhi in February 2025. The party continues to govern Punjab, where Trident is based.

Among individual contributors, party chief Arvind Kejriwal is listed against three contributions of ₹10,000 each. Former Delhi chief minister Atishi made 12 payments of ₹3,500 each, totalling ₹42,000, while Punjab AAP president Aman Arora is listed against 12 payments of ₹10,000 each, amounting to ₹1.20 lakh.

Ashutosh Ranka, a former AAP spokesperson who is now a co-convener of the Cockroach Janta Party, donated ₹21,100 during the year, before taking up his role in the CJP. The CJP, which recently led protests at Jantar Mantar over NEET paper leaks, has often been linked to AAP; its founder, Abhijeet Dipke, was associated with the party's social media team a few years ago.

In 2023-24, AAP had reported ₹11.06 crore in contributions, rising to ₹38.10 crore in 2024-25.

Political parties are required to identify donors whose contributions exceed ₹20,000 in a financial year and submit the details to the Election Commission. Such contribution reports do not reflect a party's full annual income, which is disclosed separately in its audited accounts.