 Samant's popularity increased with his release in 1977 and the failure of the Janata Party coalition, with which many rival unions had been affiliated.This increased his popularity and widespread reputation for putting workers and their interests before politics.In late 1981, Samant was chosen by a large group of Mumbai mill workers to lead them in a precarious conflict between the Bombay Millowners Association and the unions, thus rejecting the INTUC-affiliated Rashtriya Mill Mazdoor Sangh which had represented the mill workers for decades.