Congress National President and Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge with party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi. The Congress has witnessed the steepest fall in donations above Rs 20,000 in a decade, PTI reported, citing analysis of the party's filings with the Election Commission. The party's receipts from donations above Rs 20,000 plunged nearly 75 per cent in 2025-26. The party had received Rs 517.39 crore in such (above Rs 20,000) contributions in 2024-25, according to its 2024-25 contribution report submitted to the commission, while in 2025-2026, it received only Rs 130.69 crore. The Grand Old Party had last seen such a fall in donations back in 2015-2016 when its funding dropped to Rs 141.46 crore. The Congress had then disclosed donations dropped roughly 86 per cent from 2014-2025. However, over the years, and after it was voted out of power in the Centre, Congress recorded two years when it witnessed a comparatively higher donations. The party had received Rs 281.48 crore in disclosed donations in 2023-24 which rose to Rs 517.39 crore in 2024-25. Compared to Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2023-2024 had received Rs 6,074.02 crore in donations exceeding Rs 20,000 in 2024-25. This amount was nearly 12 times Congress's collection. However, data on BJP's donations in 2025-2026 is yet not available as the party's contribution report has not been made public by the EC yet. Also, the BJP collected more than the Congress in each of the 12 financial years examined. Funding through Prudent Electoral Trust accounted for a substantial part of Congress' latest decline. The trust's contribution fell from Rs 216.34 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 25 crore in 2025-26, a drop of about 88 per cent. Prudent was the only electoral trust listed in the party's latest contribution report. Among other large contributors were Star Cement, which gave Rs 5 crore, Sajjan Bhajanka, who contributed Rs 4 crore, and Prem Kumar Bhajanka, who donated Rs 2 crore. The Congress' 2025-26 donation collection was not its lowest. Its disclosed donations were lower in several earlier years, including Rs 74.52 crore in 2020-21, Rs 95.46 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 79.92 crore in 2022-23. However, these figures exclude electoral bonds, which were reported separately when the scheme operated. Including bond receipts in the earlier years, the Congress' latest collection in 2025-26 was its lowest since 2020-21. The contribution report does not show the party's total income, which also includes smaller donations, membership fees, coupon collections and interest. The Congress' audited account for 2025-26, which has not been uploaded yet, is needed to establish its overall financial position. In 2024-25, coupon collections alone brought the party Rs 350.12 crore. Shashwat Bhandari is the Associate Editor at Times Now. With 14 years of experience in the news and media industry, he understands the responsibility ... View More