AAP donations fall 68% to Rs 12.1 crore in 2025-26; Trident, Prudent Electoral Trust top donors
Trident Group chairman Rajender Gupta and Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-convener Ashutosh Ranka were among top donors to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2025-26, which saw the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit’s donations fall by 68% compared with the previous year.
The AAP disclosed Rs 12.10 crore in contributions for 2025-26 in its documents to the Election Commission. Of this, Rs 5 crore came from Trident Limited, a company founded by former AAP MP Rajinder Gupta, and another Rs 5 crore from Prudent Electoral Trust. Together these two contributed 83% of AAP donations in 2025-26.
Gupta signed the cheques in January 2026 before he joined the BJP where he’s currently a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab.
Ranka contributed the amount when he was still with AAP. He later became a co-convener of the Cockroach Janta Party.
Gupta was elected to the Rajya Sabha on an AAP ticket in October 2025 but joined the BJP in April 2026. Trident’s Rs 5-crore contribution was made through a cheque dated January 9, 2026, when Gupta was still associated with the AAP.
Trident’s contribution accounts for more than 41% of the AAP’s total disclosed donations of Rs 12.10 crore for 2025-26. An equal Rs 5 crore came from Prudent Electoral Trust, meaning the two donors together supplied nearly 83% of the party’s reported contributions.
The filing does not, however, establish any connection between Gupta’s contribution and his later political move.
The disclosure also shows a sharp contraction in AAP’s declared funding. Contributions fell 68% from Rs 38.10 crore in 2024-25 to Rs 12.10 crore in 2025-26. The latest figure comes after AAP lost power in Delhi in February 2025, although it continues to govern Punjab.
The decline is particularly notable because the previous year had seen a substantial jump in contributions from Rs 11.06 crore in 2023-24 to Rs 38.10 crore.
Kejriwal, Atishi also on list
The report contains 1,202 numbered entries. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is listed as making three contributions of Rs 10,000 each. Former Delhi chief minister Atishi contributed Rs 42,000 in 12 instalments of Rs 3,500, while Punjab AAP president Aman Arora contributed Rs 1.20 lakh through 12 Rs 10,000 instalments.
The disclosures offer a statutory snapshot of who contributed to the party during a politically significant year, when its Delhi government ended, its funding fell sharply and two individuals associated with its political ecosystem appeared in the donor list despite subsequently moving away from the party.
