Lucknow, Dec 18 (IANS): Senior BJP leaders from Uttar Pradesh, both with ministerial portfolios in the Yogi cabinet and those from the party, are headed towards West Bengal where elections are due next year.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and party general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal will be in West Bengal this weekend where they will be discussing organizational issues with party cadres.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath will also be visiting West Bengal soon though the date has not yet been finalized.

A senior party functionary said, "While BJP party leaders from across the country would be tasked with 'Mission Bengal', it is in UP where the BJP has successfully engaged with two influential caste groups, Dalits and OBCs, ahead of the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, as well as before 2017 UP polls.

"In West Bengal, too, the BJP is attempting to connect with fishermen and 'Matuas', a Dalit refugee group with origins in Bangladesh and whose influence is spread over 50 assembly seats in the state."

Keshav Prasad Maurya, an OBC leader, is likely to visit at least 30 assembly segments in West Bengal, including key regions like Howrah, Serampore, Arambagh and Uluberia.

Moreover, the BJP leaders and workers from UP, will be connecting with Hindi speaking voters in West Bengal, many of whom are not of Bengali origin.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has set a target for BJP winning 200 of the 294 assembly seats in West Bengal.

UP BJP spokesman Harish Chandra Srivastava, said, "It is not at all an ambitious target. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal, we got 40 per cent of the vote share, against 43 per cent of the TMC, and bagged 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats -- against TMC's 22 seats -- in the state.

"Now, several leaders of the ruling TMC have joined us and, this time, the writing on the wall is clear. We will create history in WB now."

Union Ministers hailing from Uttar Pradesh will also be touring West Bengal in the coming weeks.