Bengaluru: Former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy moved into his new home at Bhairidevarakoppa here on Friday and announced that he would stay in Hubballi for 12 days every month in order to strengthen the JD(S) in North Karnataka.

The JD(S) leader said that if his party was voted to power in 2018, it would waive all the loans of farmers, fishermen and weavers, and hike the pension for senior citizens, widows and the physically challenged. “Welfare of farmers and the poor, and jobs for the youth will be our priorities,” he added.

Kumaraswamy said he would tour the length and breadth of North Karnataka every month with an aim to help the JD(S) win at least 40 seats in the region in the next Assembly elections. He called on JD(S) workers to conduct door-to-door campaigns and highlight his “achievements” when he was chief minister from February 2006 to October 2007. He criticised the Congress and the BJP, saying both the parties had “failed” to protect the interests of common people. He accused them of “bribing” voters and maintained that the scrapping of 1,000-rupee and 500-rupee notes would help the JD(S) as its election expenditure was “meagre.

Kumaraswamy’s wife Anitha Kumaraswamy, MLC Basavaraj Horatti, MLA N H Konaraddi and others were present at the house-warming.