MyNeta API

An API scraped together to make it easy to see and work with MP and MLA data submitted at the time of elections.

Supported Years

MPs (Members of Parliament): 2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2024

Example Usage

Base URL: https://nish.space/my_neta/

1. MPs

Endpoint : '/mps'

Parameters : '/mps[/year][/state or union_territory]'

Examples :

• /mps/2004
• /mps/2014/goa
• /mps/2019
• /mps/2024

2. MLAs

Endpoint : '/mlas'

Parameters : '/mlas[/state]'

Examples :

• /mlas/maharashtra
• /mlas/andhra_pradesh

Scraping Data

The scraper has been updated to work with the current myneta.info website structure. It handles both the old format (pre-2019) and new format (2019+) automatically.

Scrape All Data

# Scrape both MPs and MLAs
rake db:scrape

Scrape MPs by Year

# Scrape all available MP years (2004, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2024)
rake db:scrape_mps

# Scrape specific years
rake db:scrape_mps[2024]
rake db:scrape_mps[2019,2024]
rake db:scrape_mps[2004,2009,2014]

Re-Scrape (Delete and Replace)

To re-scrape a year (deletes existing data first):

# Re-scrape 2024 (with confirmation prompt)
rake db:rescrape_mps[2024]

# Re-scrape multiple years
rake db:rescrape_mps[2019,2024]

Adding New Election Years

To add data for new election years (e.g., 2029):

1. Update the YEARS constant

Edit my_neta.rb and add the new year to the YEARS array:

YEARS = %w(2004 2009 2014 2019 2024 2029)

2. Add known URL

Edit lib/neta_scraper.rb and add the known URL for the new year to KNOWN_MP_URLS:

KNOWN_MP_URLS = {
  '2024' => 'https://myneta.info/LokSabha2024/index.php?action=show_winners&sort=default',
  '2019' => 'https://myneta.info/LokSabha2019/index.php?action=show_winners&sort=default',
  '2014' => 'https://myneta.info/ls2014/index.php?action=show_winners&sort=default',
  '2009' => 'https://myneta.info/ls2009/index.php?action=show_winners&sort=default',
  '2004' => 'https://myneta.info/LokSabha2004/index.php?action=show_winners&sort=default',
  '2029' => 'https://myneta.info/LokSabha2029/index.php?action=show_winners&sort=default'  # Add here
}.freeze

3. Scrape the new data

# Scrape the new year
rake db:scrape_mps[2029]

Verify the data

# Check count for the new year
curl https://nish.space/my_neta/mps/2029

# Or with the API running locally
curl http://localhost:9292/mps/2029

Scraper Notes

• State Extraction: For 2019+, the scraper fetches individual candidate pages to extract state information. This is cached to avoid repeated requests.
• New Structure: The 2024+ site uses 8 columns (vs 16 in older years). The scraper automatically detects and handles both formats.
• Rate Limiting: The scraper adds small delays between candidate page fetches to be respectful of the server.
• Fallback: If state extraction fails, a constituency-to-state mapping is used as a fallback.