AAP Donations Drop 68 Per Cent: Trident, Prudent Trust Account for 83 Per Cent

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) reported contributions of Rs 12.10 crore in 2025-26, marking a 68 per cent decline from the Rs 38.10 crore disclosed in the previous financial year. According to the party's contribution report filed with the Election Commission, Prudent Electoral Trust and Trident Limited each contributed Rs 5 crore, together accounting for nearly 83 per cent of AAP's reported donations. The remaining contributions amounted to about Rs 2.10 crore. The Election Commission maintains annual contribution reports submitted by recognised political parties.

The latest filing is the first full financial-year contribution report since AAP lost power in Delhi in February 2025, while the party continues to govern Punjab. AAP had reported contributions of Rs 11.06 crore in 2023-24 before the figure rose to Rs 38.10 crore in 2024-25. Prudent Electoral Trust was also the party's largest donor in the previous year, contributing Rs 16.40 crore. The latest figures therefore show a substantial reduction in the party's disclosed contributions compared with the preceding financial year.

Trident Limited, which contributed Rs 5 crore to AAP, was founded by Rajinder Gupta, a former AAP Rajya Sabha member who later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in April 2026. The donation was made through a cheque dated January 9, 2026, when Gupta was still associated with AAP, according to the report. Gupta had been elected to the Rajya Sabha on an AAP ticket in October 2025. The donation was therefore made before his subsequent move to the BJP.

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Former AAP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, who is now a co-convener of the Cockroach Janta Party, was also listed among the contributors. Ranka donated Rs 21,100 to AAP during 2025-26, before taking up his role with the CJP. The latest contribution report contains 1,202 numbered entries, with Punjab AAP president Aman Arora listed against 12 payments of Rs 10,000 each, amounting to Rs 1.20 lakh.

Contribution reports filed by other regional parties also recorded changes during 2025-26. The Telugu Desam Party reported Rs 58.25 crore, down from Rs 83.03 crore in 2024-25, although its receipt from Prudent Electoral Trust increased to Rs 45 crore from Rs 40 crore. The YSR Congress Party reported Rs 24.31 crore, compared with about Rs 140.04 crore the previous year, while the Biju Janata Dal reported no individual contributions above Rs 20,000 in its latest filing. These figures concern disclosed contributions and do not represent the parties' complete annual income.

Under the applicable reporting requirements, political parties are required to identify contributions exceeding Rs 20,000 received from donors during a financial year. Contribution reports are separate from audited annual accounts, which provide a broader picture of a party's income and expenditure. The latest filings consequently show a sharp fall in AAP's disclosed contributions in 2025-26, alongside changes in contribution levels reported by several other regional parties.

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