Udupi: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said he was a loyal Congress worker and anyone questioning his dedication to the party and the Gandhi family is in illusion.

He also asserted that the party will come back to power in the 2028 Assembly polls.

Shivakumar was reacting to speculation about his recent meeting with party central leaders in Delhi, and talks about in political circles, especially in the ruling party, about the chief minister change, later this year, under a "rotational chief minister" or "power-sharing" formula.

"I have not put any condition on any one and there is no need to put any condition. I'm a Karyakarta, I work according to what the party tells me. Putting conditions or blackmailing is not in my blood. I'm a loyal Congress worker," Shivakumar said, in response to a question on speculation about his visit to Delhi and that he had apparently put some conditions on party leaders.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "If anyone, let them be from any party, questions my dedication to the Congress party and the Gandhi family, it is their illusion."

Asked whether speculation about the 2.5 years power sharing formula was false, Shivakumar merely said, "I can only say in 2028. The Congress party will come back to power."

Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief, is a strong chief ministerial aspirant and has made no secret of his ambition to become the CM.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister's post after the declaration of Assembly election results in May 2023, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational chief minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years, but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.