Take textile out of Pali, there is hardly anything an outsider can relate to the historic city in Marwar region. But over the past decade, the new industrial image has also been its nemesis.The textile hub today is more known for its pollution than the industry. The inaction of various governments forced the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to shut down the polluting textile units for months in 2017. People were rendered jobless and permanent slums cropped up adding an ugly view to the cityscape.Later, some units reopened even without adequate number of common effluent treatment plants, exacerbating the condition of the already polluted Bandi river. But revival remained elusive as demonitisation and GST pegged them back.Water remains the biggest political issue in a district that has 112 dams. Part of the Marwar kingdom prior to independence, Pali enjoyed a special attention of its rulers who constructed the famous Jawai dam - biggest in western Rajasthan - on the eponymous river. Jodhpur and Pali used to get water from the dam. But the main source today has dried up.While Jodhpur got a lifeline from the Indira Gandhi Canal Project (IGCP), Pali’s rural areas were left in the lurch. The BJP government had initiated the Rs 6,000 crore Jawai recharge plan to bring water from Sabarmati Basin Project. But nobody knows when the project will get completed.BJP had won all six seats in the district in 2013, this time it is facing a strong anti-incumbency. The district has traditionally been a stronghold for the saffron party which won four of the six seats even in 2008 when Congress was elected to power.The western dedicated freight corridor which passes through the region has been a saving grace. The demand for laying railway lines has created demand for land. People in Marwar junction are happy that land prices has risen.Party’s MLA from Pali Gyanchand Parakh, who has been representing the seat since 1998, is facing anti-incumbency and a tough contest against Congress candidate Mahaveer Rajpurohit, a crusader against the industrial pollution, is on the cards.BJP dropped Surendra Goyal, five-time MLA and cabinet minister from the district, while Congress is heavily relying on its new faces, after denying ticket to former minister Bina Kak. While Goyal has turned a rebel, Kak said she was surprised that the party chose somebody she had not heard about. The former Congress minister represented Sumerpur seat four times in the past.NCP candidate Ummed Singh has been fielded from Bali, against BJP’s siting minister Pushpendra Singh. Congress has brought in four are new faces, while BJP has dropped three of its sitting MLAs, which includes Goyal.

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