About 64.23 per cent of the 1.17 crore electorate cast their ballot on Thursday in 69 constituencies in the third and final phase of the Karnataka assembly elections, Election Department sources said.

Chief Electoral Officer M N Vidyashankar said polling was peaceful in the polling held across eight north Karnataka districts.

As many as 699 aspirants, including Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president M Mallikarjuna Kharge and former chief minister N Dharam Singh, were in the fray in the final phase.

Curtains came down on the three-phased polling process in the 224 assembly segments, contested by 2,241 aspirants, on Thursday. Counting would be held on May 25.

In the first phase of polling on May 10, 66 per cent voting was recorded for 89 seats followed by 67.8 in the second phase on May 16 in 66 constituencies.