Why are US midterm elections so important?

The US midterms will take place today (November 8) and people will decide who controls US Congress - Democrats or Republicans.These polls will also decide the future of the Joe Biden's Presidency.

What are US midterm elections? These elections are known as midterms because they come in between the President's tenure of four years. These polls are for Congress, (US Parliament) which is made up of two parts - the House of Representatives and the Senate. 

Now, Congress makes nationwide laws. The House decides which laws are voted on while the Senate can block or approve them, confirm appointments made by the President and, more rarely, conduct any investigations against him.

Let's take a simple analogy to understand this: The house of Senate is very similar to what we have in India as Rajya Sabha. And the House of Representative is very similar to what we have as the Lok Sabha in India. 

Who contests for these elections:

• These elections does not include voting for the Presidency. 
• The members of the House of Representatives are elected for two-year terms. Because of this, each candidate or representative runs during every Presidential-year election and midterm elections.
• Senators from each state are elected for six-year terms. Approximately one-third of Senate seats runs during midterm election. 
• Most Governors are elected for four-year terms; and, therefore, approximately half of state Governors are up for re-election during midterm elections.  

Who might win? The results of these elections generally act as a report card for the current ruling party, indicating how the audience feels about the current government. And Joe Biden's popularity is not great after his decisions like pulling out the military from Afghanistan. 

• But, still, the Democratic Party (Biden's party) has held the majority in both the House and the Senate for the past two years. That's been helpful for President Joe Biden to pass the laws he wanted. 
• However, Democrats control that power over Republicans by razor-thin margin, making for a close race. According to polls by BBC, Republicans may win the House, but Democrats may keep the Senate. 

Latest update: Donald Trump has also hinted that he might run for a third bid during his rally in Iowa, encouraging his supporters to vote for his party in the midterms.