UKIP leader Nigel Farage says Surrey is a key battleground in the upcoming elections.
But the MEP, who lives in Westerham, within a mile of the county boundary, refused to give away which seats were top of his hit-list when Surrey goes to the polls to elect its county councillors in two weeks' time.
Ukip came third in every Tandridge division at the last county election in 2009. In Reigate and Banstead, they came second to the Tories in four out of nine divisions. Mr Farage is "genuinely hopeful" of a big swing towards his party on May 2.
"Surrey is right up there in the top half-dozen counties where we think we have got a realistic chance of a breakthrough," he told the Mirror ahead of a public event in Oxted on Friday.
"As a keen angler, I know that one fish on the bank is a lot more than none. If we get one seat on Surrey County Council, fine, it's progress. If we establish a group [with more than one councillor] we are in business in local politics in Surrey.
"We have target seats but I am not prepared to disclose which they are. We will be targeting about ten seats very hard. I am genuinely hopeful of success in East Surrey."
Despite their single-issue tag, Mr Farage insists Ukip – the UK Independence Party, which is seeking Britain's withdrawal from the European Union – is relevant to county politics.
"So many of our national issues are impacting locally," he said.
"The job of the county council is to provide services, and if we have a massively increased population there are more services to be provided. Our message of controlled immigration is very relevant to local budgets."
He added: "Succeeding in 'first past the post' is difficult, but we are encouraged by what happened in Foxhills [in Runnymede, where Ukip won a borough council by-election last month]. Our view is that if we can do it there, we can do it anywhere."
Asked if he was thinking of standing as MP for a Surrey constituency in 2015, Mr Farage said: "I wouldn't rule it out."
The Mirror asked to speak to the leaders of the two parties which were Ukip's biggest competition at the last county election, but Nick Clegg declined and David Cameron had not replied as we went to press.
Hear from every candidate standing for election in Tandridge, Reigate and Banstead in next week's Mirror.
