Tej Pratap (Left) and Tejaswi (Right) were sworn in as members of Nitish Kumar's Bihar cabinet today.
As news of portfolio allocations for Bihar's new ministers came in today, there was the expected: Lalu Yadav's younger son
Tejaswi, was made deputy chief minister.
And then, a few surprises. The 26-year-old first time legislator was also sworn in as the state's minister for roads.
In the last 10 years of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's rule, the improvement in the state of Bihar's roads became a key testament to his development agenda, winning heaps of praise and helping him sail to power for a third term.
Therefore, for those who remember the governments led by Lalu Yadav and wife Rabri Devi between 1990 and 2005, infamous for the poor condition of Bihar's roads - ridden with potholes with the tar sometimes totally absent - the choice was bewildering.
But the appointment was perhaps explained by Mr Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD winning 80 of the state's 243 seats, more than the 71 that partner Janata Dal (United) of Nitish Kumar got in elections. At his father's residence today, Tejaswi refused to take any questions.
Health was another sector that Nitish Kumar claimed vast improvements in. In the last 10 years, Mr Kumar's governance agenda has featured health as a major factor, with claims of big improvements at the level of rural hospitals that cater to the poor.
Mr Yadav's elder son, the 28-year-old Tej Pratap, also a first time legislator with no governance record,
was made Bihar's new health minister. "He is ill," said a fuming Lalu at his house when asked about the appointments, refusing to let the media meet his elder son.
"What is wrong if they are given important portfolios? They will learn the ropes and they have won tough elections. There is nothing wrong," said Misa Bharti, the new minister's sister, earlier in the day.