The UP government has started a dedicated women's helpline -- 1090 -- in the state.
On Valentine's Day, there was no public display of love on the streets of Lakhimpur Kheri town in northern UP, which will vote on Wednesday. The talk instead, was more of social restrictions and women's safety - a prominent issue in the campaigns of the key political parties - at a bustling coaching centre, practically the only place where young men and women were seen together.
Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, the BJP and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party, have all spoken of women's safety in their election campaign. The state government has started a dedicated women's helpline -- 1090 -- in the state. The BJP in particular has promised "anti-Romeo squads" in police stations to check harassment of women.
But the 200-odd 18 to 21-year-olds at the Lakhimpur Kheri coaching centre say promises are easy. It is the delivery that is dubious. According to the government of India figures, more than 35,000 cases of crimes against women were filed in Uttar Pradesh in 2015 --the highest in the country.
"It is not safe enough for us. Sometimes, we get harassed on the street. If we have to go somewhere, someone has to accompany us. This isn't right," said Nidhi Gupta, who attends a local college and walks more than a kilometre each morning to reach the coaching centre.
But almost all of them have dreams of a different social order. Neeru Verma, 18, who is from a middle class background, has heard of Valentine's Day, but never observed it. But she would love the freedom to do so, she admitted. "You tell me, is loving someone wrong? Anyone can fall in love, right? But then in India, our culture is such that these things become very restrictive," she said.
Sitting in the row in front of her, another 18-year-old, Aman Mishra, agreed. "I don't think you'd have the freedom to express your love in a place like this. But that should not be the case," he said.