The 2‐(1‐methyl‐4,5‐dicyanoimidazolyl) group was attached to poly(diallylamine) and polyethylenimine, affording polymers containing an electron‐withdrawing pendant group. The key to their preparation is high reactivity of 1‐methyl‐2‐fluoro‐4,5‐dicyanoimidazole (1) toward nucleophilic aromatic substitution (NAS) reactions with aliphatic amines. Cyclic voltammograms of these polymers show reduction waves at −2.6 to −2.7 V vs. Ag/Ag+ but no reoxidation waves, unlike those of monomeric and oligomeric model compounds, which are quasi‐reversible. The cyclic voltammetry studies of oligomeric model compounds with different alkyl spacers show that the degree of quasi‐reversibility decreases as dicyanoimidazoles are crowded together in a molecule, suggesting that a certain degree of chemical reaction occurs between reduced dicyanoimidazole groups. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Polym. Sci. A Polym. Chem. 36: 2619–2629, 1998