IT is a time for introspection," said Sonia Gandhi kicking off the three-day conclave of the Congress party in the salubrious climes of Panchmarhi in Madhya Pradesh on September 4. What she didn't put into so many words, was that it was also a time for reinvention. Over two decades after the party's first 'brainstorming' session at Narora when Indira Gandhi was prime minister, the Congress sought last week once again to position itself as the party of governance. The focus, therefore, was on attempting to be all things to all people—something which the party had managed with a degree of success for nearly half-a-century.