Obama says he's more inspired than ever

Washington: 1:05 pm: India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated Barack Obama for being re-elected as the President of the United States. "We look forward to working with you," the Prime Minister said.

12:25 pm: Stressing on his determination to improve the economy, Obama said, "I return to the White House more determined and inspired than ever." "In the coming weeks and months I am looking forward to reaching out and meeting with leaders of both parties to tackle economic challenges," Obama said.

12:15 pm: US President Barack Obama also congratulated Republican Mitt Romney for 'hard campaigning'. "I spoke to Romney and congratulate him for a hard campaign," Obama said. "I hope to sit down with Mitt Romney in the future to help move the country forward," the President added.

12:10 pm: US President Barack Obama thanked his supporters after being re-elected on Tuesday. Speaking at his headquarters in Chicago, Obama said, "We are an American family and we rise as one nation."

"The American people remind us that the road has been hard, the journey has been long. We know in our hearts that for USA the best is yet to come," he said.

11.25 AM: Mitt Romney concedes, says "I have called Obama for his victory. I have congratulated President Obama. I congratulate Obama for his second term.

11.16 AM: Latest CNN projection: Barack Obama at 303 and Mitt Romney at 203.

11.10 AM: CNN projection: Barack Obama wins Virginia (13).

11.06 AM: President Barack Obama surges ahead in the popular votes.

11.02 AM: CNN projection: 73 per cent of popular votes in, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney at 49 per cent each.

10.52 AM: Obama will win Colorado (9), CNN projects.

10.32 AM: Mitt Romney is not ready to concede defeat, says aide.

10.24 AM: Obama will win Nevada, CNN projects.

10 AM: Obama tweeted, "We're all in this together. That's how we campaigned, and that's who we are. Thank you. - Barack Obama."

9.54 AM: "This happened because of you. Thank you," Obama has tweeted.

9.49 AM: Obama will win Ohio. Obama will be re-elected President, CNN projects.

9.42 AM: New Mexico (5): Obama wins.

9.40 AM: Obama wins Iowa (6).

9.38 AM: Latest CNN projection: Barack Obama at 238 and Mitt Romney at 191.

9.35 AM: Romney will win North Carolina, Obama will win Wisconsin, CNN projects.

9.33 AM: Electoral vote update: Obama 238, Romney 191.

9.30 AM: CNN projections: Obama will win Hawaii, DC. Idaho - Romney 4, Montana - Romney 4, California - Obama 55, Washington - Obama 12.

9.30 AM: Obama will win California, CNN projects.

9.20 AM: Obama will win Minnesota (10), CNN projects.

9.17 AM: AP reports that Mitt Romney has won Arizona (11 seats).

9.15 AM Iowa (6): Around 31 per cent of the votes have been counted. Barack Obama maintains a comfortable lead.

9.12 AM: CNN projections: Wisconsin is likely to shift from a Romney lead to an Obama lead.

9.03 AM: In Florida (29), Barack Obama is leading as 87 per cent of the votes have been counted; In Ohio (18), 59 per cent of the votes have been counted and President Obama is leading. These are two key battleground states.

9.01 AM: Wisconsin: Mitt Romney leads with 51 per cent of the votes, says CNN projection.

9 AM: CNN projections: In Ohio, Obama at 51, Romney at 48. Obama has advantage of over 80,000 votes.

8.58 AM: CNN Projection: Obama doing good in Florida at 50 per cent to Romney's 49 per cent (80 per cent votes).

8.54 AM: Obama has taken the lead in Florida, with 87 per cent of the vote counted. He's up 50 per cent-49 per cent.

8.36 AM: CNN projection: Barack Obama will win New Hampshire (4 electoral votes).

8.34 AM: CNN projections: Iowa - Obama 52, Romney 46, Montana - Romney 53, Obama 43, Nevada - Obama 51, Romney 45

8.32 AM: No projections in Iowa, Nevada and Montana.

8.30 AM: Romney will win Utah, CNN projects.

8.12 AM: CNN projections: Obama wins Pennysylvania by 60 against 39 for Romney.

8.10 AM: New Hampshire (4 electoral votes): Barack Obama maintains lead with 16 per cent of the votes counted.

8.05 AM: US elections CNN projection: House of Representatives will stay Republican while the Senate will stay Democrat. Whoever becomes the President will have a tough old time again.

8.01: AM New Mexico (5 electoral votes): Barack Obama leads with 22 per cent votes counted.

8 AM: Florida (29 votes): Mitt Romney maintains a slender lead with 78 per cent votes counted.

7.59 AM: All eyes continue to be on Ohio, where the race is too close to call.

7.56 AM: Obama leads in Colorado (9 Electoral Votes).

7.55 AM: CNN projections so far: Romney at 152 electoral votes (17 states); Obama at 123 electoral votes (11 states plus DC).

7.50 AM: CNN projections:- Colorado - Romney 62, Obama 36. New Hampshire - Obama 56, Romney 43. Virginia (54 per cent Obama and 45 per cent Romney) and Ohio (55 per cent Obama and 44 per cent Romney).

7.42 AM: Mitt Romney maintains a huge lead in Virginia; Barack Obama surges ahead in Ohio.

7.41 AM: Mitt Romney takes a slender lead in Florida, leads in North Carolina.

7.40 AM: CNN Projections: Republicans to keep the house of representatives.

7.38 AM: Barack Obama wins Michigan. Current projection: Mitt Romen 152, Obama 123.

7.30 AM: Romney will win Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska (3 electoral votes), North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. Obama will win Michigan, New Jersey and New York, CNN projects.

7.27 AM: Polls closing in another 14 states including Arzona and Colorada.

7.15 AM: Electoral vote update: Romney 82, Obama 64. 270 needed to win.

7.14 AM: Mitt Romney wins Alabama. Romney 82, Obama 64

7.12 AM: Chicago and Boston about to close voting

7.10 AM: CNN projections: Florida - Obama 53, Romney 47

7:04 AM: Mitt Romney has won in Arkansas (6), Tennessee (11).

6.52 AM: Mitt Romney has won in Indiana, a state won by President Barack Obama four years ago. Romney is also the winner in South Carolina, a state where Obama is deeply unpopular. Those states have 20 electoral votes between them. Obama has won his home state of Illinois, as well as Mitt Romney's home state of Massachusetts and Vice President Joe Biden's home state of Delaware.

There have been no surprises in the returns so far from Eastern and Midwestern states. Obama wins the 20 electoral votes in Illinois, and the 11 in Massachusetts, along with 10 in Maryland and Delaware's three. He's also the winner in Connecticut, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia. And in Maine, which splits its electoral votes, Obama has won at least three of the four votes. Romney won in Oklahoma, with seven electoral votes.

6.50 AM: According to CNN, with 56 per cent of precincts reporting in Florida, Romney stands at 51 per cent and Obama at 48 per cent among 4.3 million ballots. With 13 per cent of precincts reporting in Ohio, Obama stands at 58 per cent and Romney at 41 per cent among slightly more than 500,000 ballots. With 3 per cent of precincts reporting in New Hampshire, Obama stands at 65 per cent and Romney at 34 per cent among approximately 23,000 ballots. With 16 per cent of precincts reporting in Virginia, Romney stands at 57 per cent and Obama at 42 per cent among nearly 600,000 ballots.

6.45 AM: US elections CNN projection: Mitt Romney will win Georgia.

6.30 AM: Obama will win Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine (three out of four electoral votes), Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Romney will win Oklahoma, CNN projects.

6.11 AM: Mitt Romney has captured West Virginia and its five electoral votes. President Barack Obama is unpopular in the state, and West Virginia GOP officials have been hoping that would lead to victories for other Republicans on the ballot. Romney earlier won in Kentucky, giving him 13 electoral votes overall, while Obama was the winner of Vermont's three electoral votes.

6.03 AM: Romney will win West Virginia, CNN projects.

5.59 AM: Five per cent of votes counted in Florida, tie between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

5.55 AM: US elections CNN projection: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney wins Indiana.

5.50 AM: The polls are starting to close in the eastern United States, and President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney each have an early victory. As expected, Obama was the winner in Vermont, with three electoral votes, while Romney captured Kentucky's eight electoral votes. Vermont voters also re-elected Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders.

5.33 AM: First polls close: Romney wins Kentucky, Obama wins Vermont, CNN projects.

5.24 PM: According to Reuters-Ipsos Election Day polling, one in three Obama voters said the economy was the most important issue for them, while half of Romney voters agreed. Healthcare was the second most important issue for Obama voters and the budget deficit was second for Romney voters. Unemployment was third for both. Three-quarters of both Romney and Obama supporters decided to vote for their preferred candidate before the October debates, according to the data.

5.16 PM: According to CNN, results are already coming in from Indiana. While the presidential election there isn't considered close, the race for US Senate could come down to the wire.

5.14 AM: Some information on early exit polls from Florida: 67 per cent of today's voters are White, 16 per cent are Hispanic, 13 per cent are Black and 1 per cent are Asian. Forty-nine percent of today's Florida voters say President Obama would better handle Medicare while 47 per cent say Romney. Twenty per cent of Florida's voters --one in five-- waited until late in the campaign to decide which presidential candidate to support, while 78 per cent say they made up their minds before October 20th.

5.05 AM: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney wrote a 1,118-word victory speech on Tuesday as he concluded his quest for the presidency, claiming he had no regrets.

4.45 AM: The first nationwide exit poll results by CNN are in, and here's some preliminary data heading into election night: 60 per cent of voters say the economy is the most important issue facing the country, followed by 15 per cent who said the deficit, and 17 per cent who said healthcare. What's the most important candidate quality? 29 per cent said "a vision for future," 28 per cent said "share my values," 19 per cent said "strong leader," and 20 per cent said "cares about people." Who is more in touch with people like you? 52 per cent said Obama and 44 per cent said Romney. Who would better handle the economy? 47 per cent said Obama and 51 per cent said Romney.

4.41 AM: Mitt Romney told Reuters that it was quite a moment for him to see his name on the ballot. He said, "We’ve been working for this a long, long time and to be on the ballot for the presidency of the United States is very humbling. It’s a great honor and I hope that I have the chance to serve."

On Election Day, Americans took time to vote, and to explain why this ritual means so much to them. At polling places and in luncheonettes, in the storm-battered New York metro area and a California city hobbled by foreclosure, in precincts large and small, they celebrated democracy - and the end of a long and bitter campaign.

Turnout appears to be high in many parts of the country, with long waits at some polling places as voters deliver their Election Day verdict.

Both Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama need their supporters to show up in high numbers. A robust turnout among minorities would favor Obama, while Romney is looking for a strong showing among working-class white men.

Several storm-ravaged areas of New York and New Jersey and several swing states are reporting heavy turnout. The out reports were a relief for officials who feared Superstorm Sandy might keep people from the polls.

More than 131 million people turned out to vote for president in 2008, shattering all previous records. This year, more than 32 million people voted before Election Day, either by mail or in person.

(With additional inputs from agencies)