Donations to national political parties rose sharply by 161% in the financial year 2024–25, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) receiving the largest share of contributions.
The report, based on disclosures submitted to the Election Commission, shows that the BJP alone received nearly ten times the total funds secured by all other national parties combined during the period. The BJP’s total collections were more than ten times the combined donations received by the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M), and the National People’s Party (NPP), highlighting a widening gap in political funding among national parties.
As per ADR data, total donations above ₹20,000 stood at ₹6,648.563 crore, contributed by 11,343 donors. Of this, the BJP received ₹6,074.015 crore from 5,522 donors. The Indian National Congress was a distant second, reporting ₹517.394 crore in donations from 2,501 donors.
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), meanwhile, stated that it did not receive any donations above ₹20,000 during the year, maintaining a position it has held for the past 19 years.
Among other parties, the AAP reported donations of ₹27.044 crore, marking a 244% increase, while the NPP received ₹1.943 crore, reflecting a 1,313% rise, though from a much smaller base.
Corporate contributions continued to dominate political funding. Of the total donations, ₹6,128.787 crore, or 92.18%, came from corporate donors, while individual donors contributed ₹505.66 crore, or 7.61%.
Overall contributions increased by ₹4,104.285 crore compared to the previous financial year. The BJP’s donations rose by 171%, from ₹2,243.947 crore in 2023–24 to ₹6,074.015 crore in 2024–25. Donations to the Congress also grew by 84%, from ₹281.48 crore to ₹517.394 crore.
The BJP received ₹5,717.167 crore from corporate donors, about 13 times more than the combined corporate contributions of ₹411.62 crore received by all other national parties. The party also reported ₹345.94 crore in donations from individual contributors. The Congress received ₹383.86 crore from companies and ₹132.39 crore from individual donors.
