Awami League on Friday picked Arfanul Haque Rifat as its mayoral candidate to contest the Cumilla City Corporation (CCC) election slated for June 15.

After defeating in last two CCC elections, the ruling Awami League this time relied on its Cumilla City Unit general secretary Rifat to break BNP’s win streak in it.

It would be a litmus test for the Kazi Habibul Awal led Election Commission as it would the first elections under the commission. On the same day, EC will have to conduct elections to three upazilas, six municipalities and 135 union parishads.

Besides, the CCC elections will not be easy for the ruling party as there is a stronghold of BNP in this area and Awami League lost in the CCC elections in last three terms.

In 2012, outgoing mayor Monirul Haque Sakku defeated AL leader Afzal Khan by over 30,000 votes in the first election, and his daughter Anjum Sultana Sima in 2017 by a close margin of 10,000 votes.

Some, 14 mayoral candidates have collected the nomination forms to get the ruling party ticket for the polls.