In a watershed election, Americans on Wednesday emphatically elected Barack Obama [Images] as their first black President who is committed to reshaping the US role on the world stage, including the Indian subcontinent.

Obama, the Harvard-educated lawyer and Illinois Senator, won 349 electoral college votes against 163 of McCain out of a total 538 after an epic 21-month-long campaign in the most expensive-ever election.

Obama polled 52 per cent of the popular votes against 72-year-old McCain's 47. In the last elections four years ago, Republican and incumbent President George W Bush [Images] polled 50.7 per cent votes winning 286 electoral college ballots as against 48.3 per cent of his Democratic rival John Kerry.

In the 435-member House of Representatives, Democrats won 251 seats and the Republicans 171. In the 100-member Senate, Democrats got 56 seats and Republicans 40.

Obama's terrific showing, riding a wave of discontent against incumbent Bush's policies, swept aside Republicans in the battleground states of Ohio, Virginia Pennsylvania, Florida [Images] and California and made major inroads into Republican strongholds to gain a monopoly of power in Washington � the White House and both the chambers of the US Congress.