By early Wednesday, November 3, the party position: House of Representatives (435) - Republicans 240 and Democrats 183, with 12 seats yet to come in. In the 100-member Senate, where Democrats had dominated with 59 seats, they scrambled to a majority of 51 against 46 Republicans with three yet to be declared. In the race for Governorship in 37 of 50 states, Republicans again beat Democrats giving themselves an overall total of 27 states against 15 for Democrats and one independent. Seven results were awaited.

In the outgoing 111th Congress after the 2008 midterm,, Democrats held 255 seats against 178 of Republicans (two vacancies) and together with Senate majority, they set the agenda and carried through President Obama's historic reforms of health care and tough regulations for Wall Street financial firms. Now the four-year dominance of Congress by Democrats since 2006 is broken.

America's political scene has dramatically changed within the first two years of the Obama presidency and the Republican sweep raises questions for the young, dynamic President's re-election in 2012. Republicans had solidly voted against every piece of the Obama Administration's programme including his massive stimulus to lift the country out of its worst recession in eighty decades.

Determined to wrest control from Democrats and 'save America' from the road to 'big government and free spending' running deficits and debt, Republicans fought their way with the backing of highly energised groups of the Tea Party movement springing up all over, calling for conservatism and uprooting the existing political order. Economic slowdown and persisting unemployment and the plight of the middle class were all exploited by the opponents who charged the Obama Administration with failure to turn the economy and create jobs.

President Obama had called on Republicans over the weekend to put aside politics and work together to solve problems, irrespective of the outcome of the midterm poll.

With the outcome on predicted lines, political commentators see it as setting the stage for a shift in the Washington with a divided government and gridlocks. President Obama had from the beginning tried his best to work with bi-partisanship but Republicans cynically turned down every gesture. Now, in order to get things through the House, President Obama has to settle for compromises on the rest of his agenda. A plan to control the budget deficits would be a top priority item in the new Congress.

He is certain to exercise the executive authority to veto any legislation which seeks to undo his signature reform especially on health care and financial sector regulations. There are, however, parts of these legislations where there may be scope for refinements and mutual accommodation. The midterm elections have exposed the weaknesses of the Democrats' organization and their success in 2008 must, in retrospect, be attributed to the charisma of President Obama, who rode to the White House as the first Black American, with one of the strongest popular mandates in US history.

President Obama made a midnight call to Mr John Boehner, hitherto the Republican minority leader in the House and the prospective Speaker, who will take over the gavel from Ms. Nancy Pelosi, one of the most powerful Speakers in Congressional history.

In his call to Mr Boehner, President Obama reportedly said he was 'looking forward” to working with him and the Republicans “to find common ground, move the country forward and get things done for the American people,' as quoted by a spokesman for Mr Boehner. The President was due to meet the press later on Wednesday.

On November 5, the President leaves for a ten-day trip to Asia, beginning with India, as part of what has been described by official spokesmen as a “renewed engagement of the United States in Asia”. Apart from core alliances with Japan and Korea, US looks to Asia as the region with its most dynamic and growing markets that would be fundamental to American exports of goods and services and also to American “political and security concerns”. (IPA Service)