 Samant was elected on an independent, anti-Congress ticket to the 8th Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament in 1984; an election that was otherwise swept by the Congress under Rajiv Gandhi.He would organise the "Kamgar Aghadi" union, and the Lal Nishan Party, which brought him close to communism and Indian communist political parties.He remained active in trade unions and communist politics throughout India in 1990s.