LS was formed in February 1997 after Ramakrishna Hegde was expelled from Janata Dal.
Before the 1999 general election, faction led by then Chief Minister of Karnataka J. H. Patel lent support to the National Democratic Alliance, leading to the split in the Janata Dal.
This caused the formation of Janata Dal (Secular) under H. D. Deve Gowda, who wanted to remain equidistant from both national parties; and Janata Dal (United) under Sharad Yadav.
[4] On 30 October 2003, the Samata Party led by George Fernandes and Nitish Kumar merged with the Janata Dal.
[7] The uniting force is believed to be common opposition to Rashtriya Janata Dal in Bihar especially after the Rashtriya Janata Dal welcomed Samata Party rebels like Raghunath Jha into the party.