During a recent visit to Delhi, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde shared a lighthearted moment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, revealing a special request from his five-year-old grandson, Rudransh.

Shinde, who met the Prime Minister on Wednesday along with his wife Lata Shinde, his son and MP Shrikant Shinde, and daughter-in-law Vrushali Shinde, said Rudransh couldn’t join them in person but had a very specific demand.

“Rudransh was at home playing,” Shinde told the Prime Minister. “But he had a request—he wants his grandfather to bring back fighter planes and toys from Modi Baba.” The comment drew laughter from PM Modi, who seemed delighted by the boy’s message.

Later speaking to reporters, Shinde said his grandson’s ask wasn’t just amusing—it was quite fitting. “Fighter planes can be useful for our own battles too,” he quipped, hinting at Maharashtra’s ongoing political tussles and the upcoming civic polls.

Interestingly, Shinde’s visit to Delhi coincided with that of his political rival Uddhav Thackeray, who is also in the capital to attend a dinner hosted by the opposition’s INDIA alliance.

Taking a swipe, Shinde remarked, “He [Uddhav] has come to visit 10 Janpath, while we are headed to Lok Kalyan Marg, as per the guidance of Balasaheb Thackeray.”

During the meeting, Shinde also presented Prime Minister Modi with an image of Lord Shankar, commemorating the recent success of “Operation Mahadev”—an anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir in which a terrorist linked to the Pahalgam massacre was neutralized.

When asked about the much-speculated “Operation Tiger,” said to be aimed at dismantling the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, Shinde sidestepped with a grin. “We are talking about Operation Mahadev and Operation Sindoor—not Operation Tiger.”

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