Twinkle and Rajesh Khanna at an event in Mumbai. File picture

A clash with cancer behind him, Rajesh Khanna is eyeing a political comeback.

Not for him the hurly-burly of a Lok Sabha election any more. At 69, the Bollywood superstar of the 1960s is seeking a place in Parliament’s house of elders. The man who once sent women swooning with a sideward nod has ditched the Congress, which sent him to the Lok Sabha from a New Delhi constituency in a 1992 bypoll.

Kaka, as Khanna is known to friends, has left Delhi behind and is back in his sea-facing home, Aashirwad, in Mumbai’s Bandra. His daughter Twinkle, an actress turned designer and wife of film star Akshay Kumar, has redone the bungalow.

Having wooed and won back his estranged wife and Twinkle’s mother, Dimple Kapadia, Khanna is sidling up to the Nationalist Congress Party and the Shiv Sena for a Rajya Sabha seat.

In March, Maharashtra will elect six Elders, most of whom are expected to be from the Sena and the NCP. Kaka recently met Bal Thackeray and attended a social event with the NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal to discuss his prospects. He is seeking an audience with Sharad Pawar through the NCP’s Praful Patel.

“Rajesh Khanna is very keen on a Rajya Sabha ticket. He feels short-changed by the Congress,” the actor’s aide Ashwin Thakkar said.

After his 1992 election win from Delhi, Khanna was not fielded in the 1996 general election. He was later asked to contest from Gujarat’s Gandhinagar in a bypoll.

“Everybody knew he had no chance of winning from Gandhinagar. He was never rewarded for the sacrifice he willingly made for the party,” Thakkar said.

In the Gandhinagar bypoll, Dimple had campaigned for her husband despite their estrangement over Khanna’s philandering ways after their 1974 marriage. The couple had separated in 1984 but never divorced.

“Dimple became open to reconciliation with Kaka after she lost her sister (Simple Kapadia) to cancer two years ago,” said a family friend of the Kapadias. Sources say Akshay Kumar played a key role in bringing his father-in-law and mother-in-law together.

The family celebrated the birthdays of Rajesh and Twinkle, both born on December 29, in Goa.

Post-cancer, Khanna has lost nearly 20kg. Though gaunt and weak, he is recovering quickly with loads of tender loving care from his family.

Kaka is also considering film offers suited to his age to make a Bollywood comeback through “meaningful” cinema. His 2009 film opposite a Pakistani actress half his age had been panned for its overt sexuality.